This conceptual analysis centers two historical periods in which Black communities in the United States secured educational rights for themselves in spite of (not because of) intervention from the federal government. Drawing from the Critical Race Theory, the authors argue that Reconstruction and the post-"Brown" era offer valuable…

This article examines the historical relationship between political power and the pursuit of education and social equality from the Reconstruction era to the present. The chief argument is that education equality is historically linked to and even predicated on equal political power, specifically, equal access to the franchise and instruments of…

In the period after the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Plessy v. Ferguson), "white" supremacy was codified and reinforced through law, custom, and mob violence. Despite this, African-descended women artists in the Western Hemisphere committed the revolutionary act of declaring, "I am; I am here; I am here remaking/reimagining the…

Analyzes four significant court cases that span the rise of a body of jurisprudence in the United States known as civil rights law. Describes each of these cases in detail showing the profound impact they have had on the rights of all citizens and, in particular, African Americans. (CMK)

The United States Supreme Court has had a significant role in the exploration and definition of affirmative action in this country. No more so than in the recent decisions related to the University of Michigan admissions cases. This article will explore the historical role of the U.S. Supreme Court and the decisions that this entity has made in…