In the Matter of Color: Race and the American Legal Process: The Colonial Period - Softcover

Higginbotham Jr., A. Leon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195027450 ISBN 13: 9780195027457

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1980

Synopsis

Focusing on the actions and attitudes of the courts, legislatures, and public servants in six colonies, Judge Higginbotham shows ways in which the law has contributed to injustices suffered by Black Americans

About this title

Review:

In this midst of heated, often poisonous, arguments about affirmative action, school busing, and race-based political redistricting, A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. provides a welcome voice of reason. The sequel to his acclaimed In the Matter of Color, published in 1978, Shades of Freedom is a history of American racial law from the 17th century to the present. This long and often dark chronology is examined with precision, providing Higginbotham ample space to air his own view, that America has come far but still has far to go. Higginbotham, the former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court Appeals for the Third Circuit and the winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is unabashedly liberal, especially in wholeheartedly supporting the concept of political districts designed to create black majorities. His analyses, particularly of major decisions such as the 1857 Dred Scott case, are compelling and elegant. And his indignation is palpable.

From the Back Cover:

Judge Higginbotham chronicles in unrelenting detail the role of the law in the enslavement and subjugation of black Americans during the colonial period. It is a moving book that should be read by all Americans who believe in justice and dignity for all.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1980
• ISBN 10: 0195027450
• ISBN 13: 9780195027457
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 544