Description: In the first comprehensive account of the Supreme Court's race-related jurisprudence, a distinguished historian and a renowned civil rights lawyer scrutinize a legacy too often blighted by racial injustice. Discussing nearly 200 cases in historical context, the authors show the Court can still help fulfill the nation's promise of equality for all.
Brief description: Orville Vernon Burton is a prizewinning author of many books, including The Age of Lincoln. He is Judge Matthew J. Perry Chair of History at Clemson University and Emeritus University Scholar at the University of Illinois. Inducted into the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars, he is also a recipient of the Southern Historical Association's John Hope Franklin Lifetime Achievement Award.
Review Quotes: Show[s] with heartbreaking clarity how the Supreme Court has typically been more a foe than a friend to the pursuit of racial equality...[An] impressive work...Burton and Derfner's discussion of recent Supreme Court jurisprudence offers high levels of insight, and they provide reliable guidance on controversies involving affirmative action, capital punishment, regulation of police, and other vexing subjects.--Randall Kennedy "The Nation" (8/9/2021 12:00:00 AM)