Unlikely Heroes
362 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2
Paperback
Release Date:30 May 1990
ISBN:9780817304911
"I think there has been no more heroic episode in American law than the work of southern federal judges in ending racial discrimination in the South. Jack Bass has brought this recent history to life, telling us much that we had not known." —Anthony Lewis, New York Times
Unlikely Heroes is a gripping and readable account of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the watershed 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended racially segregated schools. The "unlikely heroes" whose lives and decisions that Jack Bass traces are the federal judges—primarily on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals—who vigorously and skillfully implemented the Brown decision in six southern states. These rich profiles show the character of the men who gave up prosperous lives, popularity, and friends to see that the constitutional rights of all U.S. citizens were protected.'I think there has been no more heroic episode in American law than the work of southern federal judges in ending racial discrimination in the South. Jack Bass has brought this recent history to life, telling us much that we had not known.'
—Anthony Lewis, New York Times
'The book emphasizes the judges' courage and integrity in the face of strong local opposition.' —Choice
'Jack Bass has written an important book. . . . The best history of the civil rights movement I've read.' —Joe Cumming Jr., The Atlanta Constitution
Unlikely Heroes should be on the must-purchase list for every library holding any collection on law or legal history, and it will make an excellent text in classes on civil rights law, in and out of law school.' —Law Books in Review
'Bass has a good story to tell, and valuable ideals to honor; he shows convincingly that his protagonists deserve the tag 'hero.'' —David Jonathan Cohen, The Washington Post
Jack Bass is Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of Charleston.
PREFACE
Prelude 1
Famous Last Words 2
The Four--The Leader and the Scholar 3
Montgomery 4
Reprisal 5
Ben Cameron and States' Rights 6
Gomillion v. Lightfoot 7
Skelly Wright and New Orleans 8
The Pursuit of Justice 9
Crisis in Mississippi 10
Birmingham, 1963 11
Picking Up Speed 12
Cameron's Assault 13
The Governor Wins 14
The Wall Tumbles 15
By a Jury of One's Peers 16
The Lawyers 17
No More "Deliberate Speed" 18
Conclusion and Epilogue
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
INDEX
Prelude 1
Famous Last Words 2
The Four--The Leader and the Scholar 3
Montgomery 4
Reprisal 5
Ben Cameron and States' Rights 6
Gomillion v. Lightfoot 7
Skelly Wright and New Orleans 8
The Pursuit of Justice 9
Crisis in Mississippi 10
Birmingham, 1963 11
Picking Up Speed 12
Cameron's Assault 13
The Governor Wins 14
The Wall Tumbles 15
By a Jury of One's Peers 16
The Lawyers 17
No More "Deliberate Speed" 18
Conclusion and Epilogue
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
INDEX
