Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers : Reflections From the Deep South, 1964–1980

"Fascinating. . . . The kind of book you can open anywhere, maybe thumb back or forth a few pages, and settle into a good story."— USA Today "One of the great, largely unknown stories of American history. This volume is a wonderfully evocative demonstration of something often discounted—how important law and lawyers were, and remain, in realizing the promise of full equality for all citizens."—Kenneth W. Mack, author of Representing the Race "Filled with tales of ordinary people exhibiting extraordinary courage, Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers provides a penetrating and vital new perspective on one of the most turbulent and important periods in American history."—Lawrence Goldstone, author of Inherently Unequal "Spriggs has performed a great service for future historians and for all of us by collecting the personal memories of lawyers who put their boots on the ground and their lives on the line in the Deep South during the tumultuous civil rights movement."—James Blacksher, civil rights attorney, Birmingham, Alabama "The different voices are incredibly effective at both describing a harrowing series of events for the lawyers and allowing readers to hear how they interpreted those events in their own individual ways. A powerful work."—Thomas Aiello, author of Jim Crow's Last Stand While bus boycotts, sit-ins, and other acts of civil disobedience were the engine of the civil rights movement, the law provided context for these events. Lawyers played a key role amid profound political and social upheavals, vindicating clients and together challenging white supremacy. Here, in their own voices, twenty-six lawyers reveal the abuses they endured and the barriers they broke as they fought for civil rights. These eyewitness accounts provide unique windows into some of the most dramatic moments in civil rights history—the 1965 Selma March, the first civil judgment against the Ku Klux Klan, the creation of ballot access for African Americans in Alabama, and the 1968 Democratic Convention. The narratives depict attorney-client relationships extraordinary in their mutual trust and commitment to risk-taking. White and black, male and female, northern- and southern-born, these recruits in the battle for freedom helped shape a critical chapter of American history. Kent Spriggs , author of the two-volume Representing Plaintiffs in Title VII Actions , has been a civil rights lawyer for over fifty years. He practices in Tallahassee, Florida, where he was a city commissioner and mayor. Choice Outstanding Academic Title While bus boycotts, sit-ins, and other acts of civil disobedience were the engine of the civil rights movement, the law provided context for these events. Lawyers played a key role amid profound political and social upheavals, vindicating clients and together challenging white supremacy. Here, in their own voices, twenty-six lawyers reveal the abuses they endured and the barriers they broke as they fought for civil rights. These eyewitness accounts provide unique windows into some of the most dramatic moments in civil rights history--the 1965 Selma March, the first civil judgment against the Ku Klux Klan, the creation of ballot access for African Americans in Alabama, and the 1968 Democratic Convention. The narratives depict attorney-client relationships extraordinary in their mutual trust and commitment to risk-taking. White and black, male and female, northern- and southern-born, these recruits in the battle for freedom helped shape a critical chapter of American history. Henry M. Aronson | Larry Aschenbrenner | Fred Banks | Reber Boult | John C. Brittain | Armand Derfner | Jack Drake | Malcolm (Mac) Farmer | William Ferguson | Fred D. Gray | Jim Lewis | Elliott Lichtman | Barbara Schechter Lipman | David Lipman | Don H. Marmaduke | John L. Maxey | Laughlin McDonald | Larry Menefee | Dennis Roberts | Solomon Seay | Norman Siegel | Constance "Connie" Slaughter-Harvey | Richard Sobol, Sebastopol | Richard H. Tuttle Twenty-six contributors tell their stories about being civil rights lawyers in the Deep South. A thematic structure is employed to reflect these stories. Ten of the stories describe how children of the South and children of the North chose to become civil rights lawyers. The context of civil rights lawyering is explored from big events such as the 1965 Selma march to the everyday experiences of mass meetings and the recurring racism of Neshoba County. The misadventures of civil rights lawyers are described from arrests, to beatings, to a black lawyer being called by a racial epithet in court by a judge. The development of civil rights lawyer groups—the Legal Defense Fund, the LCDC (Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee), and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law—were crucial to the success of the civil rights movement. Voting rights dramatically spurred by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were crucial to the newly emerging status of blacks. The public accommodations section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 broke barriers in hotels and eating places. School desegregation litigation changed the face of public schools forever. Employment discrimination litigation dramatically changed the workplace. The success of civil rights litigation led to using the federal courts to reform prisons and facilities for the mentally ill. Two authors discuss the contemporary language of race and the status of white supremacy. "While bus boycotts, sit-ins, and other acts of civil disobedience were the engine of the civil rights movement, the law provided context for these events. Lawyers played a key role amid profound political and social upheavals, vindicating clients and together challenging white supremacy. Here, in their own voices, twenty-six lawyers reveal the abuses they endured and the barriers they broke as they fought for civil rights. These eyewitness accounts provide unique windows into some of the most dramatic moments in civil rights history--the 1965 Selma March, the first civil judgment against the Ku Klux Klan, the creation of ballot access for African Americans in Alabama, and the 1968 Democratic Convention. The narratives depict attorney-client relationships extraordinary in their mutual trust and commitment to risk-taking. White and black, male and female, northern- and southern-born, these recruits in the battle for freedom helped shape a critical chapter of American history."--Publisher's website Civil rights lawyers were handmaidens of change who worked in the back rooms during twentieth-century America's era of profound social upheaval. Kent Spriggs, a noted lawyer of the period, gathers stories of legal maneuvers and memories of racial injustices from 26 voices ... white and black, male and female, Northern-born, and Southern-born ... many of whom share their own defining moments as civil rights lawyers. This collective perspective adds depth to the history of the era and its window on the legal and extralegal activities that occurred away from the actual protest venues. The framing materials place civil rights litigation into the context of major events from the 1960s, and the concluding section reflects on contemporary relevancies and continuing legacies Lawyers played a key role amid the profound political and social upheavals of the civil rights era, vindicating clients and together challenging white supremacy. Here, in their own voices, twenty-six lawyers reveal the abuses they endured and the barriers they broke as they fought for civil rights.