Inspired by the University of Illinois's celebration of the Brown v. Board of Education decision's fiftieth anniversary in 2004, this collection addresses the significance of the Brown decision in the contributors' lives or work in education and civil rights. Several authors describe their personal roles in the Brown case or similar cases, while others examine and illustrate events, performances, and exhibitions that were part of the anniversary commemoration. The book not only explores the repercussions of the Brown decision, but also stands as a historic document in its own right, preserving the reactions of many prominent intellectuals, artists, and activists fifty years after the decision. Contributors are Kal Alston, Margaret L. Andersen, Kathryn H. Anthony, Nathaniel C. Banks, Bernice McNair Barnett, Christopher Benson, Ed Blankenheim, Julian Bond, Orville Vernon Burton, Jason Chambers, Constance Curry, Joseph A. De Laine Jr., Mary L. Dudziak, Joe R. Feagin, John Hope Franklin, Ophelia De Laine Gona, Lani Guinier, Darlene Clark Hine, Freeman A. Hrabowski III, John Jennings, Ralph Lemon, George Lipsitz, Jim Loewen, Laughlin McDonald, David O'Brien, James C. Onderdonk, Sekou Sundiata, Christopher Teal, Nicholas Watkins, Carrie Mae Weems, Juan Williams, and Joy Ann Williamson.''A valuable book that serves as both a fitting tribute and a careful examination of the Brown v. Board of Education decision after a half century. The touching and moving recollections help us understand the human impact the Brown case had on the 'ordinary' folks.''--William C. Hine, coauthor of The African-American Odyssey
Acknowledgments; Introduction: Orville Vernon Burton and David O'Brien; Section I: Brown: Its History and Legacy; 1. Darlene Clark Hine, The Briggs v. Elliott Legacy: Black Culture, Consciousness, and Community before Brown, 1930-1954; 2. George Lipsitz, Getting Around Brown: The Social Warrant of the New Racism; 3. Margaret L. Andersen, From Brown to Grutter: The Diverse Beneficiaries of Brown v. Board of Education; 4. Laughlin McDonald, Beyond School Desegregation: The Impact of Brown; 5. Jason Chambers, ''A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste'': The Advertising Council, the United Negro College Fund, and Educational Access for African Americans; 6. Joe R. Feagin and Bernice McNair Barnett, Success and Failure: How Systematic Racism Trumped the Brown v. Board of Education Decision; 7. Lani Guinier, From Racial Liberalism to Racial Literacy: Brown v. Board of Education and the Interest-Divergence Dilemma; Section II: Brown and Lived Experience; 8. Joseph A. De Laine Jr., Briggs: South Carolina's Bold Step That Led to Brown; 9. Ophelia De Laine Gona, About Integration: In Memory of the Reverend J. A. De Laine; 10. John Hope Franklin, My Life and Times with Thurgood Marshall; 11. Constance Curry, The Intolerable Burden; 12. James Onderdonk, The Freedom Riders: Two Personal Perspectives; 13. Ed Blankenheim, Looking Back at the Freedom Riders; 14. Kal Alston, The Middle Generation after Brown; Section III: The Arts and Brown; 15. Sekou Sundiata, Why Colored Faces in High Places Just Won't Do; 16. John Jennings, The Chance Project; 17. Ralph Lemon, What Was Always There; 18. Carrie Mae Weems and David O'Brien, Art and Integration: An Interview with Carrie Mae Weems; 19. David O'Brien, Social Studies: Eight Artists Address Brown; Section IV: Illinois and Brown; 20. Kathryn H. Anthony and Nicholas Watkins, A Legacy of Firsts: African Americans in Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; 21. Nathaniel Banks, Reflections on the Brown Commemoration from a Champaign Native; 22. Joy Ann Williamson Lott, Reform in the Black Power Era; 23. Richard Herman, Lest We Forget; 24. James W. Loewen, Enforcing Brown in Sundown Towns; Section V: Public Intellectuals and Brown and Its Legacy; 25. Julian Bond, Civil Rights; Now and Then; 26. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, Reflections of America's Achievement Gap: A Fifty-Year Perspective; 27. Chris Benson, Just Because of the Color of His Skin: The 1955 Lynching of Emmett Till; 28. Juan Williams and Christopher Teal, Thurgood Marshall's Vision; Epilogue; Mary L. Dudziak, Brown's Global Impact; Notes on Contributors; Index
''A valuable book that serves as both a fitting tribute and a careful examination of the Brown v. Board of Education decision after a half century. The touching and moving recollections help us understand the human impact the Brown case had on the 'ordinary' folks.'' William C. Hine, coauthor of The African-American Odyssey
