Race Law

Maintaining the easily readable style and tightly organized format of the first and second editions, the third edition of Race Law provides an in-depth examination of the issue of race in the American Legal process from the formation of the United States Constitution in 1787 to the present. In this book, Higginbotham combines a unique blend of moderately edited original source materials and scholarly analysis including historical background information, legislation, state and federal court decisions, commentary, biographical information, and questions. Fully revised and updated, the third edition offers important new material on race classification, reconstruction, reparations, citizenship, criminal justice, employment discrimination, affirmative action, and Supreme Court appointments. Higginbotham also explores the values of the individuals in power and probes how these values affected their choice of options.

Race Law is divided into six parts: Analysis and Framework; Slavery; Reconstruction, Citizenship, and Sovereignty; Segregation; Attempted Eradication of Inequality; and Supreme Court Confirmation Controversies. While the material is presented primarily in chronological order, a few cases are strategically placed for pedagogical reasons consistent with the book's focus on values.

This casebook is comprehensive in its coverage both as to time period (1787 to the present) and as to subject-matter (slavery, reconstruction, segregation, and attempted eradication as applied to African Americans, American Indians, Latinos/as, and Asian Americans). It includes all of the important cases and statutes pertaining to those subjects and groups. Although containing both cases and statutes, Race Law is an extremely readable casebook. Students love it because it reads like a novel rather than forty separate and distinct cases. This easily readable style is achieved by proceeding chronologically, by careful editing of each case, and by using introductions and conclusions for each case that allow for easy transitions between cases, and between cases and chapters. Race Law contains biographical information on individuals that played significant roles in the cases. Such information adds an element of reality to the theories being discussed. Race Law contains all of the fascinating stories that provide historical background to the cases and statutes. It is the only casebook that contains both cases and stories in one. Designed for those with limited exposure to the history of American race relations law, Race Law provides a unique introductory learning opportunity for law students, graduate students, and upper-division college students.

The accompanying Teacher's Manual provides a detailed approach for each class session beginning with an introduction and an opening question, continuing with an in-depth examination of each assigned case, and concluding with a closing question and summary. An outline is provided for each class session, answers are provided for all suggested questions, and each case analysis includes facts, issue, holding, and rationale.