Book Review: Social Movements, Legal Change, and the Challenges of Writing Legal History

65 Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc 155 (2012)

Chicago-Kent College of Law Research Paper No. 2013-36

29 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2013 Last revised: 25 Sep 2013

See all articles by Christopher W. Schmidt

Christopher W. Schmidt

Chicago-Kent College of Law; American Bar Foundation

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

(Reviewing Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Courage to Dissent: Atlanta and the Long History of the Civil Rights Movement (2011)).

This Essay identifies the key contributions that Tomiko-Brown Nagin’s Courage to Dissent makes to the legal history of the civil rights movement. It situates the book among several other prominent legal histories of the civil rights era and offers thoughts on the challenge of creating historical accounts that illuminate the complex intersections of legal change and social activism. The Essay argues that Courage to Dissent is among the most thorough and ambitious efforts to confront this challenge in the literature today.

Keywords: Legal History, Civil Rights Movement, Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Courage to Dissent, Atlanta, social activism, legal change, writing legal history

JEL Classification: K10, K19, K30, K39

Suggested Citation

Schmidt, Christopher W., Book Review: Social Movements, Legal Change, and the Challenges of Writing Legal History (2012). 65 Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc 155 (2012), Chicago-Kent College of Law Research Paper No. 2013-36, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2218498

Christopher W. Schmidt (Contact Author)

Chicago-Kent College of Law ( email )

565 W. Adams St.
Chicago, IL 60661-3691
United States

American Bar Foundation ( email )

750 N. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60611
United States

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