The Movement Made Us: A Father, a Son, and the Legacy of a Freedom Ride

A STEPHEN CURRY'S BOOK CLUB PICK

SOUTHERN INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS ALLIANCE BESTSELLER

“A story of triumph and resilience centered around those who dedicated their lives to the Civil Rights movement. It reminds us that, in order to truly appreciate how far we’ve come—and how far we still have to go—we must acknowledge the past and pay homage to those who laid the foundation. It reminds us that everyday people can be heroes if they stand up for what’s right. It reminds us that we’re not alone in our experiences, and that if we work together, we can make impactful change.”—Stephen Curry

“The Movement Made Us takes literature to a momentous Southern Black space to which I honestly never thought a book could take us. This is literally the Movement that made us and both Davids love us whole here with a creation that is as ingenious as it is soulfully sincere. Stunning.”—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

A dynamic family exchange that pivots between the voices of a father and son, The Movement Made Us is a unique work of oral history and memoir, chronicling the extraordinary story of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and its living legacy embodied in Black Lives Matter. David Dennis Sr, a core architect of the movement, speaks out for the first time, swapping recollections both harrowing and joyful with David Jr, a journalist working on the front lines of change today. 

Taken together, their stories paint a critical portrait of America, casting one nation’s image through the lens of two individual Black men and their unique relationship. Playful and searching, anxious and restorative, fearless and driving, this intimate memoir features scenes from across David Sr’s life, as he becomes involved in the movement, tries to move beyond it, and ultimately returns to it to find final solace and new sense of self—revealing a survivor who travels eternally with a cabal of ghosts.  

A crucial addition to Civil Rights history, The Movement Made Us is the story of a nation reckoning with change and the hopes, struggles, setbacks, and triumphs of modern Black life. This is it: the extant chronicle of why we live, why we move, and for what we are made. 

• A Father and Son Memoir: For the first time, Civil Rights architect David Dennis Sr. and his son, a journalist, exchange stories of trauma and triumph across generations.
• The Cost of the Civil Rights Movement: An intimate look at the personal sacrifices of activism, exploring what it means to be a survivor who “travels eternally with a cabal of ghosts.”
• Freedom Summer & The Freedom Rides: Go beyond the headlines with a gripping, firsthand account of the battles that defined the 1960s, from the front lines in Mississippi and Louisiana.
• From Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter: A vital chronicle that connects the historic struggle of the 1960s to the ongoing fight for justice today.

DAVID J. DENNIS JR. is a senior writer at ESPN's Andscape. His work has been featured in Atlanta magazine, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, among other publications. Dennis is the recipient of the 2021 American Mosaic Journalism Prize, is a National Association of Black Journalist Salute to Excellence award winner, and was named one of The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans of 2020. He lives in Georgia with his wife and two children and is a graduate of Davidson College.

DAVID J. DENNIS SR. is a civil rights veteran and one of the original Freedom Riders who rode from Montgomery to Jackson in 1961. He served as field secretary for the Congress of Racial Equality in Louisiana and Mississippi (1961–65) and as co-director with Bob Moses of the Voter Education Committee of the Council of Federated Organizations. He helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Summer, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and the challenge to the National Democratic Party in 1964. He attended Dillard University and earned his law degree at the University of Michigan. In 1972, he co-directed the challenge to the Louisiana Democratic structure that resulted in an African American chairman and a majority African American delegation being sent to the national convention, the first time since Reconstruction. He is the executive director of the Southern Initiative Algebra Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization that works to ensure a quality education for all children, especially children of color and the chronically underserved.