Itemize Books Supposing Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform
| Original Title: | Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform |
| ISBN: | 0195182472 (ISBN13: 9780195182477) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Derrick A. Bell
Paperback | Pages: 230 pages Rating: 4.26 | 142 Users | 13 Reviews
Identify Appertaining To Books Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform
| Title | : | Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform |
| Author | : | Derrick A. Bell |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 230 pages |
| Published | : | August 18th 2005 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published January 1st 2004) |
| Categories | : | Education. Nonfiction. Race. History. Law. Cultural. African American |
Relation Toward Books Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform
When the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education was handed down in 1954, many civil rights advocates believed that the decision, which declared public school segregation unconstitutional, would become the Holy Grail of racial justice. Fifty years later, despite its legal irrelevance and the racially separate and educationally ineffective state of public schooling for most black children, Brown is still viewed by many as the perfect precedent.Here, Derrick Bell shatters the shining image of this celebrated ruling. He notes that, despite the onerous burdens of segregation, many black schools functioned well and racial bigotry had not rendered blacks a damaged race. He maintains that, given what we now know about the pervasive nature of racism, the Court should have determined instead to rigorously enforce the "equal" component of the "separate but equal" standard. Racial policy, Bell maintains, is made through silent covenants--unspoken convergences of interest and involuntary sacrifices of rights--that ensure that policies conform to priorities set by policy-makers. Blacks and whites are the fortuitous winners or losers in these unspoken agreements. The experience with Brown, Bell urges, should teach us that meaningful progress in the quest for racial justice requires more than the assertion of harms. Strategies must recognize and utilize the interest-convergence factors that strongly influence racial policy decisions.
In Silent Covenants, Bell condenses more than four decades of thought and action into a powerful and eye-opening book.
Rating Appertaining To Books Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform
Ratings: 4.26 From 142 Users | 13 ReviewsAssess Appertaining To Books Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform
Silent Covenants' begins with the all-too-acceptable scene of a graduation crowd applauding the decision Brown v. Board of Education as a, if not the, milestone in breaking down legitimized racial segregation.Unfortunately, as Bell articulately suggests, the decision may in fact be not only more symbolic than substantive but may also have rippling effects that have worsened, or at least obscured, the efforts of the civil rights activists who fought so hard for this 'victory.'A major argument"Rule 1. The interest of blacks in achieving racial equality will be accommodated only when that interest converges with the interests of whites in policy-making positions. This convergence is far more important for gaining relief than the degree of harm suffered by blacks or the character of proof offered to prove that harm.""Rule 2. Even when interest-convergence results in an effective racial remedy, that remedy will be abrogated at the point that policymakers fear the remedial policy is
Harsh critique of what was accomplished in Brown v. Board but from a voice that can not and should not be ignored.
Overall, very good, but a few definite "issues" at the same time, which I'll note at the end.That said, I largely agree with Bell, and with other authors who have also raised some of the same points."Equal" is about more than just physical integration, to the degree that was ever possible. It's also about equality in financial and other resources, and within integrated classrooms, equality of student treatment by teachers. None of that comes easily, and much of it hasn't come much further than
This book gives a great overview of the seminal court cases leading up to Brown, and paints a grim picture for how far we haven't come since the ruling. Morever, Bell provides a compelling argument for the fact that the Supreme Court's decision was influenced not by an interest in civil rights for people of color, but by interest convergence and the socio-political context of the time. He walks back his integrationist stance from years prior when he worked as a lawyer in conjunction with the
A qualitative masterpiece. Bell takes his readers on a journey up through Brown and beyond providing some jewels along the way. He takes us behind the scenes when critical social justice and legal decisions were made, along with sociopolitical insights that drove those decisions.
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