Six decades before Rosa Parks boarded her fateful bus, another traveller in the Deep South tried to strike a blow against racial discrimination-but ultimately fell short of that goal, leading to the Supreme Court's landmark 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. Now Williamjames Hull Hoffer vividly details the origins, litigation, opinions, and aftermath of this notorious case. In response to the passage of the Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890, which prescribed "equal but separate accommodations" on public transportation, a group called the Committee of Citizens decided to challenge its constitutionality. At a preselected time and place, Homer Plessy, on behalf of the committee, boarded a train car set aside for whites, announced his non-white racial identity, and was immediately arrested. The legal deliberations that followed eventually led to the Court's 7-1 decision in Plessy, which upheld both the Louisiana statute and the state's police powers. It also helped create a Jim Crow system that would last deep into the twentieth century, until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and other cases helped overturn it. Hoffer's readable study synthesises past work on this landmark case, while also shedding new light on its proceedings and often-neglected historical contexts. From the streets of New Orleans' Faubourg Treme district to the justices' chambers at the Supreme Court, he breathes new life into the opposing forces, dissecting their arguments to clarify one of the most important, controversial, and socially revealing cases in American law. He particularly focuses on Justice Henry Billings Brown's ruling that the statute's "equal, but separate" condition was a sufficient constitutional standard for equality, and on Justice John Marshall Harlan's classic dissent, in which he stated, "Our Constitution is colour-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among its citizens." Hoffer's compelling reconstruction illuminates the controversies and impact of Plessy v. Ferguson for a new generation of students and other interested readers. It also pays tribute to a group of little known heroes from the Deep South who failed to hold back the tide of racial segregation but nevertheless laid the groundwork for a less divided America. This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series.

John Bingham was the architect of the rebirth of the United States following the Civil War. A leading antislavery lawyer and congressman from Ohio, Bingham wrote the most important part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees fundamental rights and equality to all Americans. He was also at the center of two of the greatest trials in history, giving the closing argument in the military prosecution of John Wilkes Booth's co-conspirators for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. And more than any other man, Bingham played the key role in shaping the Union's policy towards the occupied ex-Confederate States, with consequences that still haunt our politics. American Founding Son provides the most complete portrait yet of this remarkable statesman. Drawing on his personal letters and speeches, the book traces Bingham's life from his humble roots in Pennsylvania through his career as a leader of the Republican Party. Gerard N. Magliocca argues that Bingham and his congressional colleagues transformed the Constitution that the Founding Fathers created, and did so with the same ingenuity that their forbears used to create a more perfect union in the 1780s. In this book, Magliocca restores Bingham to his rightful place as one of our great leaders. Gerard N. Magliocca is the Samuel R. Rosen Professor at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He is the author of three books on constitutional law, and his work on Andrew Jackson was the subject of an hour-long program on C-Span's Book TV.

"The Quetzal in Flight "examines the motives for immigration of Guatemalan families to the United States, and explores the processes of psychological change and adaptation that take place within the families during the early period of resettlement. Norita Vlach interviews six families, illustrating how each family's culture reflects its origins, decision to move, journey, and settling-in process. Unique to this study are its focus on a previously undocumented Central American population, the demonstrated interrelation of historical-structural and acculturation perspectives, and the use of the nuclear family as a model with which to study the immigration process.

Following a discussion of migration and mental health and a description of the historical and geographical context of migration in Guatemala, Vlach briefly reviews literature in the field of family studies and migration. The six case studies follow, each one characterized as either centripetal (in which families pull together to face the new world) or centrifugal (in which members are disengaged and in conflict). The author summarizes how the families cope under stressful circumstances, how they use resources, and how they exhibit conflicting perceptions of both Guatemala and the United States. The effect of civil war in Guatemala, the role of the evangelical church, the consequences of marital and family separation and reunification, and the disquieting reaction of Guatemalan migrant youth to their transplantation into the United States are all addressed. Vlach concludes by discussing the implications for anthropological theory and applied work. Although this study is specific to Guatemalan families, its findings apply readily to recent immigrants and refugees of other Latin American countries.

Drawing on diverse theoretical perspectives, this book examines questions of youth citizenship and participation by exploring their meanings in policy, practice and youth experience. It examines young people's participation in non-government and youth-led organisations, and asks what can be done to bridge the democratic disconnect.

Carole Fontaine, well known among biblical scholars for her feminist studies in the biblical wisdom traditions and the ancient Near East, is also a human rights and interfaith activist working on issues of violence against Muslim women in the Middle East and Southern Asia and a board member of many agencies such as the International Network for the Rights of Female Victims of Violence in Pakistan, and the Women's Forum against Fundamentalism in Iran. In this collection of her essays, mostly previously unpublished, she brings together these two concerns, distilling from the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam valuable insights into current questions of human rights. Unlike many writers, Fontaine recognizes the critical role of gender in the fundamental concept of the 'Other', so determinative for our view of humanity. In our days, Fontaine argues, human rights issues have taken on a new dimension in political discourse about war, peace and terror, where often an appeal is made to religious and scriptural justifications for the violation or preservation of rights. Fontaine urges attention to the priority of the sufferer in adjudicating meaning, and turns to the 'little texts' of daily ethics rather than grand theological abstractions in order to place 'scriptures' in meaningful conversation with the concrete realities of our world.

This vital book considers the compelling and addictive hold that racism has had on centuries of Americans, explores historical and contemporary norms complicit in the problem, and appeals to the U.S. government to improve race relations, rectify existent social imperfections, and guard against future race-based abuses. Despite an assertion by the founding fathers that "all men are created equal" and the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees "equal protection," the race-based oppression that has characterized most of America's history shows that in practice our society has rarely measured up to principle. Why has deep-seated racial conflict in America continued for so long? This unprecedented examination into the topic explores the evidence and consequences of what seems to be an "addiction" to racism in the United States, analyzing the related disconnect between our nation's stated moral principles and social realities, and assessing how U.S. citizens of all races can take individual action to start the long-needed healing process. The contributors to this work present interdisciplinary perspectives and discussions on American history, politics, philosophy, and 21st-century psycho-social conditions as they relate to the oppression, social injustice, and racism that have occurred-and continue to occur-in the United States. The discussions allow readers to grasp the serious challenges at hand and direct them towards recognizing the potential for conflict transformation and reconciliation through a non-conventional co-created Truth, Reconciliation, and Peace Process (TRPP) to begin resolving America's dysfunction. This is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand the sources of perpetual racially based conflict, disparity, and hatred in the United States; identify the social injuries of exposure to centuries of racism; move America towards harmonious interracial relationships; and improve its international standing as a peace-building nation that is truly committed to human rights throughout the world. Presents the inescapable evidence of persistent social violence, inequalities, and injustices perpetrated against blacks within America's borders prior to and for centuries since the nation's founding Identifies the negative psycho-social consequences and harmful impact of "transgenerated trauma"-based on the experiences of living in an overtly oppressive society for centuries-on both the oppressed and the oppressor in America Emphasizes the necessity for all American citizens to share the responsibility for exposing historical truths, working through painful memories and realities, engaging in long-avoided dialogue, and implementing systems to assure a more just America for all its citizens

Published in 1944, What the Negro Wants was a direct and emphatic call for the end of segregation and racial discrimination that set the agenda for the civil rights movement to come. With essays by fourteen prominent African American intellectuals, including Langston Hughes, Sterling Brown, Mary McLeod Bethune, A. Philip Randolph, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Roy Wilkins, What the Negro Wants explores the policies and practices that could be employed to achieve equal rights and opportunities for Black Americans, rejecting calls to reform the old system of segregation and instead arguing for the construction of a new system of equality. Stirring intense controversy at the time of publication, the book serves as a unique window into the history of the civil rights movement and offers startling comparisons to today's continuing fight against racism and inequality. Originally gathered together by distinguished Howard University historian Rayford W. Logan in 1944, our 2001 edition of the book includes Rayford Logan's introduction to the 1969 reprint, a new introduction by Kenneth Janken, and an updated bibliography.

For those who care about justice, and especially those who want to do something about injustice, Paul Ciolino's In the Company of Giants is a must-read.--Rob Warden, Executive Director, Innocence Project, Northwestern University School of Law Paul Ciolino is old school. Right is right and wrong is wrong. With street smarts and a sixth sense for where to look, Ciolino won't let go until he's found what he's looking for, which is quite simply justice. And now he's written a highly readable, straight-ahead, tell-it-like-it-is guide to let us in on what he knows.--Alex Kotlowitz, Author of There Are No Children Here, Never a City So Real, and The Other Side of the River Herein lies the root of the issue. Justice, morality, and freedom. This is what our fight is about. This is what it boils down to for me and I hope for you as well. Money is nice. Professional recognition by our peers is great. Warm and fuzzy media stories about our quest for justice are ego enriching. But, at the end of the day, it is about our most basic and dearest God inspired constitutional rights as Americans. ourselves doing this work.

The Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere has highlighted the growing importance of the politics of civil society in the contemporary Middle East. In "Reproducing Sectarianism," Paul W. T. Kingston examines rights-oriented advocacy networks within Lebanon s postwar civil society, focusing on movements and political campaigns based on gender relations, the environment, and disability. Set within Lebanon s postwar sectarian democracy, whose factionalizing dynamics have long penetrated the country s civil society, Kingston s fascinating study provides an in-depth analysis of the successes and challenges that ensued in promoting rights-oriented social policies. Drawing on extensive field research, including interviews and a wealth of primary documents, Kingston has produced a groundbreaking work that will be of interest to Middle East experts and nonexperts alike."

On the basis of a national research project undertaken in England, this volume explores how and why young people's engagement is so important globally in education and society, and looks at what teachers and students think about citizenship and community. The authors make recommendations to enhance understanding and the potential for engagement.

From 1876 to 1924--a period of free immigration--the mission of the American public library in its work with immigrants was to Americanize the immigrants by teaching them English and preparing them for citizenship. From 1924 to 1948--a period of restricted immigration--the mission of the American public library in its work with immigrants was to educate the adult immigrant and to internationalize the American community. Together, the public library and the immigrant community have shaped and perpetuated the national understanding of the value of ethnicity and internationalism to American society. The American public librarians took on the roles of advocates for immigrant rights, social workers, propagandists for the American way, and educators.

At the end of the twentieth century, as at the beginning, Americans are still debating the place of immigrants in American society. Public librarians are now as they were then, going about their duties and responsibilities of providing advice and materials to help immigrants, legal and illegal, cope with everyday life in America. The American public library has remained a sovereign alchemist, turning the base metal of immigrant potentialities into the gold of American realities.

Bailey examines a little-known but highly significant governmental mechanism in eighteenth-century Virginia: the right of every citizen to petition the Virginia assembly for redress of grievances.

Will Kymlicka is widely regarded as the most influential and original theorist of the rights and status of ethnocultural groups in liberal democracies. This volume brings together eithteen of his most important essays, tackling pressing issues of immigration, nationalism, multiculturalism, and the meaning of citizenship in today's increasingly pluralistic societies. These essays will enrich our understanding of the theory and practice of ethnic relations in liberal democracies.

The 1940s were a pivotal decade in the history of the American labor movement. Large migrations significantly changed the composition of the industrial work force while, simultaneously, the organized labor movement sought to consolidate its base. These essays examine topics including aspects of the institutional development of the labor movement at the national level, while west coast case studies explore the conflicts generated at the workplace and in communities by the increased presence of women and minority workers. American labor historians and labor studies specialists will find this collection fills a major void in the research on American labor.

Since World War II the regulation of conduct in the United States has become problematic. This condition has been recognized by ordinary citizens in the soaring crime rates, illegitimate births, neglect of the public good and increase in special and individual interests, preference for fame, fortune and power, gross immoral acts by public figures, and fascination of the media and the audience with spectacles of evil. The troubled control of social behavior in the nation is suggested by the fact that our society has no commonly accepted set of standards that can guide our actions. Heslep penetrates the bazaar of competing normative principles that Americans subscribe to in search of those logical and feasible standards of behavior that will conquer our nation's moral crisis. He then constructs an idea of character education for Americans, applying it to recent policy recommendations and to cases of individuals with moral education needs.

Using the Nation of Islam as a vehicle, but largely through his own dedication, energy, and intelligence, Malcolm X became an indefatigable Black leader during the 1960s. This encyclopedic volume examines one of the most controversial and heroic leaders of the 20th century. Over 500 essays discuss how Malcolm X affected the world in which he lived and how the influence of people, issues, and events shaped his development as an international figure.

With more than 70 contributors from black studies, history, political science, sociology, philosophy, education, journalism, and psychology, the encyclopedia combines the knowledge of a precise group of writers. Addressing a major social, religious, and political figure through their own disciplines, these authors flesh out both the diversity and the complexity of the world that defined Malcolm X.

"The Student Voice" was the magazine of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the organization that was on the cutting edge of the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s. This facsimile reproduction of the papers includes an introduction by Dr. Carson as well as a comprehensive index.

This book features a military academy as a microcosm of modern American culture. Combining the nuanced perspective of an insider with the critical distance of a historian, Alexander Macaulay examines The Citadel's reactions to major shifts in postwar life, from the rise of the counterculture to the demise of the Cold War. The Citadel is widely considered one of the most traditional institutions in America and a bastion of southern conservatism. In ""Marching in Step"", Macaulay argues that The Citadel has actually experienced many changes since World War II - changes that often tell us as much about the United States as about the American South. Macaulay explores how The Citadel was often an undiluted showcase for national debates over who deserved full recognition as a citizen - most famously first for black men and later for women. As the boundaries regarding race, gender, and citizenship were drawn and redrawn, Macaulay says, attitudes at The Citadel reflected rather than stood apart from those of mainstream America. In this study of an iconic American institution, Macaulay also raises questions over issues of southern distinctiveness and sheds light on the South's real and imagined relationship with the rest of America.

The relationship between American Indians and the U.S. political system is both vitally important and unique. Yet American Indians--as individuals and as tribal nations--typically receive scant attention in introductory courses on American government and politics. This is the only reader on Native America and U.S. politics designed to be incorporated into introductory government courses. It will help students to obtain a clearer understanding of such contemporary issues as Indian fishing rights and gaming casinos and to see topics central to the course--the Constitution, the structure of federalism, citizenship, and civil liberties--from the perspective of groups that have often sought a protected place outside the U.S. polity rather than inclusion within. Enabling students to compare the American Indian experience with the ideas presented in other course materials, the readings in this book are keyed to the topics most commonly found in the course syllabi. Selected for their insight and accessibility as well as diversity of viewpoints and topics, the essays provide a unique insight into the character of the American political system from the perspective of American Indians, teaching the reader much about both the tribes and the character of politics and government in the U.S. generally.

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"Choice Magazine" Outstanding Academic Titles 2005 Winner

"[William's] theory is elegant in its explication and provocative in its implications for government restrictions on speech ranging from the hateful, the symbolic, the politically subversive, and the costly. A must read."--"Choice," A 2005 "Choice" Outstanding Academic Title

"Meticulously argued and clearly organized, her account of free speech is both fundamentally feminist and optimistic."--"The Law and Politics Book Review"

"What emerges from this well-written work of careful scholarship is an important contribution to free speech literature."
--Frederick Schauer, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Amidst the vast array of literature on the First Amendment, it is rare to hear a fresh voice speak about the First Amendment, but in Truth, Autonomy, and Speech, Susan H. Williams presents a strikingly original interpretation and defense of the First Amendment, written from a feminist perspective. Drawing on work from several disciplines--including law, political theory, philosophy, and anthropology--the book develops alternative accounts of truth and autonomy as the foundations for freedom of expression. Building on feminist understandings of self and the social world, Williams argues that both truth and autonomy are fundamentally relational.

With great clarity and insight, Williams demonstrates that speech is the means by which we create rather than discover truth and the primary mechanism through which we tell the stories that constitute our autonomy. She examines several controversial issues in the law of free speech--includingcampaign finance reform, the public forum doctrine, and symbolic speech--and concludes that the legal doctrine through which we interpret and apply the First Amendment should be organized to protect speech that serves the purposes of truth and autonomy.

A powerful indictment of contemporary attacks on free speech, this book argues for a vigorous First Amendment jurisprudence protecting even offensive types of speech. In recent years, political activists, academics, and legal specialists have attacked traditional notions of free speech protection as they concern hate speech, obscenity, and pornography. They have called for changes in Supreme Court doctrine in defining the First Amendment and have argued that the traditional view of free speech actually creates and perpetuates a society in which the weak--women, minorities, the poor--have no voice. While recognizing their fears, Nicholas Wolfson argues that it is impossible to separate bad speech from good speech without fatally compromising the uniquely American concept of free speech, and that efforts to modify our concept of free speech for a greater egalitarian good can only result in undue state influence over private speech. In a keenly argued analysis, he finds that, in the end, the preservation of free and vigorous speech requires a strong First Amendment protection for even the most hateful of speech.