Synopses & Reviews
The Civil Rights Movement that emerged in the United States after World War Two was a reaction against centuries of racial discrimination. In this sweeping history of Civil Rights in Atlanta from the 1940s through 1980--which won both the 2012 Bancroft Prize and the 2012 Liberty Legacy Prize from the Organization of American Historians--Tomiko Brown-Nagin details the many varieties of activists and activism within the movement. Long before "black power" emerged and gave black dissent from the mainstream civil rights agenda a new name, African Americans in Atlanta intensely debated the meaning of equality and the steps necessary to obtain social and economic justice.
This groundbreaking book uncovers the activism of visionaries--both well-known legal figures and unsung citizens--from across the ideological spectrum who sought something different from, or more complicated than, "integration." Local activists often played leading roles in carrying out the integrationist agenda of the NAACP, but some also pursued goals that differed markedly from those of the venerable civil rights organization. Brown-Nagin moves from debates over political tactics, housing, public accommodations, and schools to the bruising battle over school desegregation in the 1970s. That contest, which featured opposing camps of African Americans, had its roots in the pre Brown v. Board of Education era.
Exploring the complex interplay between the local and national, between lawyers and communities, between elites and grassroots, and between middle-class and working-class African Americans, Courage to Dissent tells gripping stories about the long struggle for equality that speak to the nation's ongoing racial divisions. Remarkably authoritative, it will transform our understanding of the Civil Rights era.
Review
"Courage to Dissent is a magnificent achievement, brilliantly analyzing significant tensions within the civil rights movement: between different classes, generations, local and national actors, proponents of direct action and litigation, clients and lawyers. Elegantly written, prodigiously researched, and compellingly argued, Brown-Nagin has made an extraordinary contribution."--Michael J. Klarman, Harvard Law School, and winner of the 2005 Bancroft Prize for From Jim Crow to Civil Rights
"In an excellent work, Professor Brown-Nagin shines a welcome spotlight on unsung 'movement lawyers' like Donald Hollowell, Howard Moore, Jr., and Len Holt--legal warriors and allies of civil rights activists whose courage and skill have gone unrecognized. In the process, she reminds us of the possibility of nobility in the law and the legal profession."--Julian Bond, Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1998-2010
"In her magisterial account of the Civil Rights movement in Atlanta, Tomiko Brown-Nagin shows that it was not just elites working at the national level who had the power to change the course of history. Rather, the grassroots, composed of thousands of ordinary citizens, was crucial. Working together involved lots of conflict; yet, Brown-Nagin opens the door on a truly amazing synergy that ushered in a long overdue revolution. Courage to Dissent is a masterpiece of rigorous scholarship, careful analysis and good old-fashioned story-telling."--Lani Guinier, Professor of Law, Harvard University
"This is an absolutely compelling study of the tangled history of civil rights in Atlanta following World War II (and especially Brown v. Board of Education). No one interested in the actual operation of our fragmented legal system can ignore it, not to mention anyone interested in finding out more about the remarkable cast of characters who contended with one another in trying to shape the future of the South's most important city."--Sanford Levinson, Professor of Law and Government, University of Texas
"Courage to Dissent is an original and convincing approach to the legal history of the civil rights era, a fresh perspective on the Atlanta movement, and a model for integrating the national and local histories of civil rights struggles."--Kathryn L. Nasstrom, The Journal of American History
Review
Winner of the 2012 Bancroft Prize
Winner of the 2012 Liberty Legacy Foundation Award from the Organization of American Historians
"An original and convincing approach to the legal history of the civil rights era, a fresh perspective on the Atlanta movement, and a model for integrating the national and local histories of civil rights struggles." --Journal of American History
"A magnificent achievement, brilliantly analyzing significant tensions within the civil rights movement: between different classes, generations, local and national actors, proponents of direct action and litigation, clients and lawyers. Elegantly written, prodigiously researched, and compellingly argued...an extraordinary contribution."--Michael J. Klarman, Harvard Law School, and winner of the 2005 Bancroft Prize for From Jim Crow to Civil Rights
Synopsis
In this Bancroft Prize-winning history of the Civil Rights movement in Atlanta from the end of World War II to 1980, Tomiko Brown-Nagin shows that long before "black power" emerged and gave black dissent from the mainstream civil rights agenda a name, African Americans in Atlanta questioned the meaning of equality and the steps necessary to obtain a share of the American dream. This groundbreaking book uncovers the activism of visionaries--both well-known figures and unsung citizens--from across the ideological spectrum who sought something different from, or more complicated than, "integration." Local activists often played leading roles in carrying out the agenda of the NAACP, but some also pursued goals that differed markedly from those of the venerable civil rights organization. Brown-Nagin documents debates over politics, housing, public accommodations, and schools. Exploring the complex interplay between the local and national, between lawyers and communities, between elites and grassroots, and between middle-class and working-class African Americans, Courage to Dissent transforms our understanding of the Civil Rights era.
About the Author
Tomiko Brown-Nagin is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She also is Professor of History, affiliated with Harvard University's Department of History. Brown-Nagin earned a law degree from Yale University, where she was an editor of the
Yale Law Journal, and a doctorate in history from Duke University.
Table of Contents
Part One: A.T. Walden and Pragmatic Civil Rights Lawyering in the Postwar Era1. "Aren't Going to let a Nigger Practice in our Courts": The Milieu of Civil Rights Pragmatism
2. The Roots of Pragmatism: Voting Rights Activism inside and outside the Courts, 1944-1957
3. Housing Markets, Black and White: Negotiating the Postwar Housing Crisis, 1944-1959
4. "Segregaton Pure and Simple": School, Community, and the NAACP's Education Litigation, 1942-1958
5. More than "Polite Segregation": Brown in Public Spaces, 1954-1959
Part Two: The Movement, Its Lawyers, and the Fight for Racial Justice during the 1960s
6. Seeking Redress in the Streets: The Student Movement's Challenge to Racial Pragmatism and Legal Liberalism, 1960-1961
7. A Volatile Alliance: The Marriage of Lawyers and Demonstrators, 1961-1964
8. Local People as Agents of Constitutional Change: The Movement against "Private" Discrimination and the Countermobilization, 1963-1964
9. "New Politics": Law, Organizing, and a "Movement of Movements" in the Southern Ghetto, 1965-1967
Part Three: Questioning Brown: Lawyers, Courts, and Communities in Struggle
10. A Curious Silence: Community Activism and the Legal Campaign to Implement Brown, 1958-1971
11. An End to an "Annual Agony": The Backlash against Brown and Busing, 1971-1974
12. "Bus them to Philadelphia": A Feminist Lawyer and Poor Mothers Crusade to Redeem Brown, 1972-1980
Conclusion