Reader on Race, Civil Rights, and American Law A Multiracial Approach

Summary: This anthology offers a range of legal and related literature analyzing the major issues of race and civil rights in the modern United States. Previous works in this area have tended to focus on the relationship between whites and African Americans. Modern social life, however, is considerably more complex. As sociologist Nathan Glazer has declared, "we are all multiculturalists now". Consistent with this observation..., the anthology considers race and civil rights issues from a wide range of minority perspectives. A most valuable contribution of the anthology is its compilation of selections offering African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American perspectives on various civil rights questions.The anthology is geared toward, but not limited to, law school classes focusing on civil rights and race relations. The selections are of such a nature, however, that the anthology should also appeal to a more general readership of persons seeking foundational readings in this area. Moreover, each chapter begins with an introduction that strives to provide a framework from which the reader can analyze the current debates over issues of race in the United States.The debate over race issues is examined in numerous contexts, including the role of race in laws affecting education, housing, employment, voting rights, immigration, and the administration of criminal justice. The anthology also explores broader themes such as the history of racial subordination of African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos; affirmative action; hate speech; and the subordination of women of color. In setting the stage for an examination of race in these diverse contexts, theanthology's first selections explore the concept of race. [read more]