Crusaders In The Courts: How A Dedicated Band Of Lawyers Fought For The Civil Rights Revolution - Hardcover

Greenberg, Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465015182 ISBN 13: 9780465015184

Publisher: Basic Books, 1994

Synopsis

A personal memoir and in-depth history of the civil rights movement traces the development of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund and the author's experiences with Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, Marian Wright Edelman, and others.

About this title

From the Publisher:

A powerful personal memoir and the definitive history of an organization that helped change American society.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Greenberg (Race Relations in American History, not reviewed), former head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, recounts the revolutionary and riveting saga of the fight for civil rights in the 1950s and '60s. The author discusses how he, a Jew from the Bronx, dedicated most of his professional life to the advancement of civil rights for blacks. In an expressive and often humorous style, Greenberg recalls the days of segregation, when black and white civil rights attorneys often feared for their lives. The book's strongest points include a full, human portrait of the late Thurgood Marshall, who headed the LDF prior to becoming a federal judge and then a Supreme Court justice. Greenberg brings many of the characters involved in the civil rights struggle to life with personal anecdotes while explaining the issues of constitutional law in a way that laypeople can understand. He provides perspective on the role of Jews in the civil rights movement, saying that it has often been overstated. His account of the drama leading up to the Brown v. Board of Education decision is particularly compelling. He also does not hesitate to criticize President Eisenhower for, in his view, failing to provide strong leadership in integration. Greenberg fully grasps the irony of a protest aimed at him when he was asked to teach a civil rights course at Harvard: The Black Law Students Association there objected to the notion of a white man--also a Jew--teaching such a class. Greenberg, who went on to teach law at Columbia, is neither self-righteous nor sanctimonious as he delineates how legal changes engendered by the NAACP LDF affected daily life in America. Yet, despite past victories, he is only too aware of the continuing, desperate plight of the African-American underclass. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0465015182
• ISBN 13: 9780465015184
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 656