Brown v. Board of Education at Fifty: A Rhetorical Retrospective

by Clarke Rountree (Editor), Ann E. Burnette Texas State University (Contribution by), David Droge (Contribution by), Ann M. Gill (Contribution by), Marouf Hasian Jr. (Contribution by)

Overview

The story of Brown v. Board of Education is a half-century old now and has been retold many times by historians, legal scholars, sociologists, and others. This collection of persuasive scholarly essays examines, for the first time, the role rhetorical theory played in the development of educational segregation. Contributors consider the NAACP's development of a series of graduate school cases to challenge Plessy, analyze the Brown decision itself, assess the state response to Brown, and critique the two Supreme Court decisions implementing the Brown decision. By illustrating how rhetorical strategies created, sustained, challenged, and, ultimately, reversed educational segregation in the United States, this work demonstrates the real value of the rhetorical perspective and provides encouragement to those who wish to help further develop this emerging field of judicial rhetoric.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739108543
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	11/09/2004
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.36(w) x 9.24(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Clarke Rountree is Department Chair of Communication Arts at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction
2 Revisiting the Case ofPlessy v. Ferguson
3 Dissent as Prophecy: Justice John Marshall Harlan's Dissent inPlessy v. Ferguson as the Religious Rhetoric of Law
4 Setting the Stage forBrown v. Board of Education: The NAACP's Litigation Campaign Against the "Separate But Equal" Doctrine
5 From Natural to Cultural Inferiorirty: The Symbolic Reconstruction of White Supremacy in Brown v. Board of Education
6 The Rhetorica of Virginia's Massive Resistance Movement
7 The Supreme Court's Rhetoric of Legitimization

Editorial Reviews

Predating the filing of the litigation constituting the seminal and precedental lawsuits leading to Brown v. Board of Education were decades of restless and uncompromising agitation for change. This agitation emanated from platforms and pulpits; newspaper editorials and journals—on behalf of the rights of blacks. Targeted were the precepts of white superiority and black inferiority that the Supreme Court, through its decisions, had embedded in America's institutions. Brown v. Board of Education was the ultimate triumph that placed the rights of blacks before the law, on equal footing with whites. The 'Rhetorical Perspectives' provided by this powerful collection of essays describe the pathway that led to the transforming decision of Brown.

Nathaniel R. Jones

The chapters complement each other and provide additional insight when read together. By illustrating how rhetorical strategies created, sustained, challenged, and, ultimately, reversed educational segregation in the United States, the collection demonstrates the real value of the rhetorical perspective.

November 2007 Race Relations Abstracts

Predating the filing of the litigation constituting the seminal and precedental lawsuits leading to Brown v. Board of Education were decades of restless and uncompromising agitation for change. This agitation emanated from platforms and pulpits; newspaper editorials and journals--on behalf of the rights of blacks. Targeted were the precepts of white superiority and black inferiority that the Supreme Court, through its decisions, had embedded in America's institutions. Brown v. Board of Education was the ultimate triumph that placed the rights of blacks before the law, on equal footing with whites. The 'Rhetorical Perspectives' provided by this powerful collection of essays describe the pathway that led to the transforming decision of Brown.--Nathaniel R. Jones, Blank Rome LLP

The chapters complement each other and provide additional insight when read together. By illustrating how rhetorical strategies created, sustained, challenged, and, ultimately, reversed educational segregation in the United States, the collection demonstrates the real value of the rhetorical perspective.--Race Relations Abstracts, November 2007

From the Publisher

The chapters complement each other and provide additional insight when read together. By illustrating how rhetorical strategies created, sustained, challenged, and, ultimately, reversed educational segregation in the United States, the collection demonstrates the real value of the rhetorical perspective.

November 2007 Sage Race Relations Abstracts

The chapters complement each other and provide additional insight when read together. By illustrating how rhetorical strategies created, sustained, challenged, and, ultimately, reversed educational segregation in the United States, the collection demonstrates the real value of the rhetorical perspective.

Race Relations Abstracts