From the Grassroots to the Supreme Court

Brown v. Board of Education and American Democracy

Peter F Lau editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Duke University Press

Published:7th Dec '04

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

From the Grassroots to the Supreme Court cover

Combines legal and historical analysis to address the implications of Brown v. Board of Education , showing that the resolution of racial segregation in schools transformed the lives of ordinary citizens in broader ways than has previously been assumed.

Perhaps more than any other Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision declaring the segregation of public schools unconstitutional, highlighted both the possibilities and the limitations of American democracy. This collection of sixteen original essays by historians and legal scholars takes the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Brown to reconsider the history and legacy of that landmark decision. From the Grassroots to the Supreme Court juxtaposes oral histories and legal analysis to provide a nuanced look at how men and women understood Brown and sought to make the decision meaningful in their own lives.

The contributors illuminate the breadth of developments that led to Brown, from the parallel struggles for social justice among African Americans in the South and Mexican, Asian, and Native Americans in the West during the late nineteenth century to the political and legal strategies implemented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (naacp) in the twentieth century. Describing the decision’s impact on local communities, essayists explore the conflict among African Americans over the implementation of Brown in Atlanta’s public schools as well as understandings of the ruling and its relevance among Puerto Rican migrants in New York City. Assessing the legacy of Brown today, contributors analyze its influence on contemporary law, African American thought, and educational opportunities for minority children.

Contributors
Tomiko Brown-Nagin
Davison M. Douglas
Raymond Gavins
Laurie B. Green
Christina Greene
Blair L. M. Kelley
Michael J. Klarman
Peter F. Lau
Madeleine E. Lopez
Waldo E. Martin Jr.
Vicki L. Ruiz
Christopher Schmidt
Larissa M. Smith
Patricia Sullivan
Kara Miles Turner
Mark V. Tushnet

From the Grassroots to the Supreme Court combines well-crafted accounts that are both top-down and bottom-up (sometimes within the same essay). This intellectually stimulating approach generates unanticipated synergies, new ways of understanding the persisting struggle for racial justice.”—David L. Kirp, author of Shakespeare, Einstein, and the Bottom Line: The Marketing of Higher Education
“This book does a wonderful job of bringing history to life by revealing the human stories behind the Supreme Court’s famous decision. Each contribution offers a rich and textured picture of how Brown touched individual lives, prompting hope, fear, courage, and despair.”—Rachel F. Moran, author of Interracial Intimacy: The Regulation of Race and Romance

ISBN: 9780822334491

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 585g

432 pages