Civil Rights in Historical Context: In Defense of Brown

Abstract:     
This article is a review of Michael J. Klarman’s From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: the Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality. Professor Finkelman acknowledges that Klarman’s book is quite extensive with an impressive depth of analysis and great quantity of information concerning race law from 1896 until 1960s. Here, Professor Finkelman refutes Klarman’s major arguments and concludes that indeed Brown was central to the changes in civil rights that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. However, while he finds some of Klarman’s arguments and conclusions problematic, Professor Finkelman states that he remains impressed with the illuminating research into case law done by the author.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 58

Keywords: civil rights, equality

Accepted Paper Series