Brown v. Board of Education : a civil rights milestone and its troubled legacy / James T. Patterson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Patterson, James T.

Series:

Pivotal moments in American history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Brown, Oliver, 1918-1961.

Topeka (Kan.). Board of Education.

Segregation in education--Law and legislation--United States--History--20th century.

Segregation in education.

Brown, Oliver, 1918-1961--Trials, litigation, etc.

Brown, Oliver.

Topeka (Kan.). Board of Education--Trials, litigation, etc.

Topeka (Kan.).

African Americans--Civil rights.

African Americans.

Segregation in education--Law and legislation.

History.

United States.

Physical Description:

xxx, 285 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm.

Other Title:

Brown versus Board of Education

Brown vs. Board of Education

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2001.

Summary:

Many People Were Elated When Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in May 1954, the ruling that struck down state-sponsored racial segregation in America's public schools. Thurgood Marshall, chief attorney for the black families that launched the litigation, exclaimed later, "I was so happy, I was numb." The novelist Ralph Ellison wrote, "Another battle of the Civil War has been won. The rest is up to us and I'm very glad. What a wonderful world of possibilities are unfolded for the children!"

Here, in a concise, compelling narrative, Bancroft Prize-winning historian James T. Patterson takes readers through the dramatic case and its fifty-year aftermath. A wide range of characters animates the story, from the little-known African-Americans who dared to challenge Jim Crow with lawsuits (at great personal cost); to Thurgood Marshall, who later became a Justice himself; to Earl Warren, who shepherded a fractured Court to a unanimous decision. Others include segregationist politicians like Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas; Presidents Eisenhower, Johnson, and Nixon; and controversial Supreme Court justices such as William Rehnquist and Clarence Thomas.

Most Americans still see Brown as a triumph -- but was it? Patterson shrewdly explores the provocative questions that still swirl around the case. Could the Court -- or President Eisenhower -- have done more to ensure compliance with Brown? Did the decision touch off the modern civil rights movement? How useful are court-ordered busing and affirmative action against racial segregation? To what extent has racial mixing affected the academic achievement of black children? Where indeed do we go from here to realize the expectations of Marshall, Ellison, and others in 1954?

Contents:

Preface: Contesting the Color Line xiii

1 Race and the Schools Before Brown 1

2 The Grass Roots and Struggling Lawyers 21

3 The Court Decides 46

4 Crossroads, 1954-55 70

5 Southern Whites Fight Back 86

6 Striving for Racial Balance in the 1960s 118

7 The Burger Court Surprises 147

8 Stalemates 170

9 Resegregation? 191

10 Legacies and Lessons 206.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-261) and index.

Local Notes:

Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Sheldon Hackney.

Storage copy signed by Sheldon Hackney in front.

Storage copy has MS. notes by Sheldon Hackney at end.

ISBN:

0195127161

OCLC:

45856169