Counterrevolution : The Crusade to Roll Back the Gains of the Civil Rights Movement

In Black Reconstruction W.E.B. Du Bois wrote, "The slave went free; stood for a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery." His words echo across the decades as the civil rights revolution, marked by the passage of landmark civil rights laws in the '60s, has seen those gains steadily and systematically whittled away. As history testifies, revolution nearly always triggers its antithesis: counterrevolution. In this book Steinberg provides an analysis of this backlash, tracing the reverse flow of history that has led to the current national reckoning on race. Steinberg puts counterrevolution into historical and theoretical perspective, exploring the "victim-blaming" and "colorblind" discourses that emerged in the post-segregation era and undermined progress toward racial equality, and led to the gutting of affirmative action. This book reflects Steinberg's long career as a critical race scholar, culminating with his assessment of our current moment and the possibilities for political transformation. Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction. "Race Relations": An Obfuscation Part I. Counterrevolution in Historical and Theoretical Perspective Chapter One. Nails in the Coffin of the Civil Rights Revolution Chapter Two. How Daniel Patrick Moynihan Derailed the Civil Rights Revolution Chapter Three. The Life and Death of Affirmative Action Chapter Four. The Comeback of the Culture of Poverty Part II. Deconstructing Victim-Blaming Discourses Chapter Five. Social Science and the Occlusion of Political Economy Chapter Six. Education as a False Panacea: From Tuskegee to the Harlem Children's Zone Chapter Seven. Theories of Ethnic Success: Three Narratives Chapter Eight. "Making It": Fact versus Fiction Chapter Nine. The Goose-Gander Myth: Implications for the Black Lives Matter Movement Chapter Ten. The Political Uses of "Concentrated Poverty" Part III. From Backlash to Frontlash Chapter Eleven. Decolonizing Race Knowledge: Exorcizing the Ghost of Herbert Spencer Chapter Twelve. The Myth of Black Progress Chapter Thirteen. Systemic Racism: The Elephant in the Room Chapter Fourteen. Bring Back Affirmative Action Chapter Fifteen. Trump, Trumpism, and the Resurgence of White Supremacy Notes Index Back Cover