This is an interesting reminder of the complex network of issues that faced America in the 1960's. The point of this book is simply that, given how much pressure was facing the average Black American in 1960, it is astonishing and miraculous that a grassroots Civil Rights movement could not only be started, but that it could succeed, without violence.
Another way of analyzing the book would be to simply explain why Martin Luther King, Jr.'s movement had the inertia and power that it did; because it wasn't his movement—it was everybody's movement, and when the community had oriented itself around justice and peace (by choosing peaceful protests), they naturally selected King's voice as the voice for their movement.
In other words, this book explains the zeitgeist, which is a literary and philosophical term used to refer to the constantly evolving assumptions that a culture shares—like a viral meme can become "in the zeitgeist," if suddenly everyone is quoting it. The zeitgeist of the 1960's was strained by the pressure of bitter racism and poorly integrated communities due to segregation, but that paved the way for a new awareness.
Now it is considered unacceptable by the majority to be racist, but back then, it was largely tolerated. In other words, as the title suggests, the story captures the main motivation of the stories: To gain social freedom and public respect as human beings. In that regard, the Civil Rights movement certainly succeeded, because the average American is less racially prejudiced that an average person 50-60 years ago. That doesn't mean racism was eliminated, but it is now considered unacceptable, because it is morally reprehensible to judge someone based on their outward appearance or their cultural heritage.
