The longtime champion of regional writers and human rights produced an important work this year, Cradle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement That Changed America, a history of his homestate’s pivotal role in the dismantling of the Jim Crow South. Some critics thought Gaillard didn’t adequately demonize the region’s pre-King politicians; others (including CL) thought his nuanced portrait of the state’s struggles was excellent.
This article appears in Aug 4-10, 2004.
