A Lasting Legacy

A Lasting Legacy: Racism, Inequality, and the Supreme Court uses primary source documents to explore how the Supreme Court has shaped civil rights throughout our country’s history. The book gives students of American history the opportunity to examine excerpts from court decisions and consider their consequences. This work details the practice of slavery in the American colonies and the various state and federal cases that led to a hardening of views about its viability.

The beginnings of the Jim Crow era are discussed, as is the early 20th Century concept of nativism. Blatant and brutal incidents involving lynching are studied from legal, historical and social perspectives. The book details the events and cases leading up to the historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision, which began the process of ending some forms of segregation. A dedicated chapter continues this research through the present day, raising probing questions about racism, prejudice and how we view our society in the future.

The second edition features light corrections and updates throughout, as well as a new concluding chapter titled “Being Ever Vigilant,” which explores current events that underscore the ubiquitous nature of prejudice in our society.

A Lasting Legacy can serve as a standalone or supplemental text in courses on American history and civil rights. The book also provides fascinating insight for general readers and anyone with an interest in this overlooked aspect of history.