Colour-Coded; A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900-1950

Backhouse, Constance

ISBN 10: 0802082866 / ISBN 13: 9780802082862

Published by Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History/University of Toronto, Toronto

About this Item

[0-8020-8286-6] 1999. (Mass market paperback) As new. xiii, 485, [2]. 8vo. A history of the racial distinctions, assumptions, laws, and activities that have been rooted in racial distinctions and an examination of the tenacious hold that white supremacy had on the legal system not only in the first half of the 20th century and which underscores the legacy of damage and inequality that continues today. Black and white photographs. As new.

Seller Inventory # 128307

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Colour-Coded; A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900-1950
• Publisher: Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History/University of Toronto, Toronto
• ISBN 10: 0802082866
• ISBN 13: 9780802082862
• Binding: Soft cover
• Seller catalogs:
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About this title

Synopsis

Historically Canadians have considered themselves to be more or less free of racial prejudice. Although this conception has been challenged in recent years, it has not been completely dispelled. In Colour-Coded, Constance Backhouse illustrates the tenacious hold that white supremacy had on our legal system in the first half of this century, and underscores the damaging legacy of inequality that continues today.

Backhouse presents detailed narratives of six court cases, each giving evidence of blatant racism created and enforced through law. The cases focus on Aboriginal, Inuit, Chinese-Canadian, and African-Canadian individuals, taking us from the criminal prosecution of traditional Aboriginal dance to the trial of members of the 'Ku Klux Klan of Kanada.' From thousands of possibilities, Backhouse has selected studies that constitute central moments in the legal history of race in Canada. Her selection also considers a wide range of legal forums, including administrative rulings by municipal councils, criminal trials before police magistrates, and criminal and civil cases heard by the highest courts in the provinces and by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The extensive and detailed documentation presented here leaves no doubt that the Canadian legal system played a dominant role in creating and preserving racial discrimination. A central message of this book is that racism is deeply embedded in Canadian history despite Canada's reputation as a raceless society.

Winner of the Joseph Brant Award, presented by the Ontario Historical Society

About the Author

Constance Backhouse is Professor of Law at the University of Western Ontario and author of Petticoats and Prejudice: Women and Law in Nineteenth-Century Canada.