The Color Line: Legacy for the Twenty-first Century (Paul Anthony Brick Lectures S.) - Hardcover

Franklin, John Hope

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826208940 ISBN 13: 9780826208941

Publisher: University of Missouri Press, 1993

Synopsis

"The problem of the 20th century will be the problem of the colour line - the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men", wrote author and civil rights leader W.E.D. Du Bois in 1903. As the 20th century comes to a close, one of America's most distinguished historians takes an unflinching look at race relations in America today. Distilling more than two centuries of history, John Hope Franklin reflects on the most tragic and persistent social problem in the American nation's history - the colour line - as it becomes the legacy for the next century. "The Color Line" originated as three lectures delivered at the University of Missouri - Columbia in April 1992, just one day after the "not guilty" verdict was returned in the trial of Los Angeles police officers in the beating of Rodney King. The violence that shook Los Angeles and soon erupted in other cities across the country provided a dramatic backdrop for Franklin's message: the colour line holds fast - in education, in housing, in health care, and in the legal system. Franklin illuminates some of the key episodes in the nation's history. He traces America's forward and backward steps on the path toward racial equality, from the Carter administration's record number of appointments of African Americans to the bench, to the Reagan administration's effort to continue support for educational institutions that persisted in racial discrimination and segregation. Examining the historical role of race in both the Republican and Democratic parties, Franklin argues that while opponents of affirmative action claim to promote a colour-blind legal system, many have adopted race-encoded rhetoric to raise the spectre of racial fear and hatred. Franklin also outlines the questionable civil rights record of Clarence Thomas, whose nomination and confirmation as Supreme Court justice provoked considerable controversy among civil rights leaders. The colour line continues to flourish in the final decade of the 20th century. "Perhaps the very first thing we need to do as a nation and as individual members of society", writes Franklin, "is to confront our past and see it for what it is".

About this title

Review

"Echoing W.E.B. Du Bois's 1903 assertion that the problem of the 20th century 'is the problem of the color line, ' historian Franklin . . . argues that this will be the problem of the 21st century as well. . . . his cogent observations will spur further discussion."--Publishers Weekly

"Anyone interested in understanding or improving America needs to read this powerful little book. Highest recommendation."--Library Journal

"It gives the non-historian, in accessible prose, the advantage of his more than 50 years of scholarship on a subject that many Americans would just as soon forget. If the harsh truth about America's racial history is ever going to be digested, unassuming works such as this one will surely play a part."--The St. Petersburg Florida Times

"Echoing W.E.B. Du Bois's 1903 assertion that the problem of the 20th century 'is the problem of the color line, ' historian Franklin . . . argues that this will be the problem of the 21st century as well. . . . his cogent observations will spur further discussion."--Publishers Weekly

"Anyone interested in understanding or improving America needs to read this powerful little book. Highest recommendation."--Library Journal

"It gives the non-historian, in accessible prose, the advantage of his more than 50 years of scholarship on a subject that many Americans would just as soon forget. If the harsh truth about America's racial history is ever going to be digested, unassuming works such as this one will surely play a part."--The St. Petersburg Florida Times

"Echoing W.E.B. Du Bois's 1903 assertion that the problem of the 20th century 'is the problem of the color line, ' historian Franklin...argues that this will be the problem of the 21st century as well....His cogent observations will spur further discussion."--Publishers Weekly

"Anyone interested in understanding or improving America needs to read this powerful little book. Highest recommendation."--Library Journal

"It gives the non-historian, in accessible prose, the advantage of his more than 50 years of scholarship on a subject that many Americans would just as soon forget. If the harsh truth about America's racial history is ever going to be digested, unassuming works such as this one will surely play a part."--The St. Petersburg Florida Times

"Few will fault the reasoning of Mr. Franklin's conclusions, drawn from his half-century of scholarship. A color-blind society, like a crime-free society, may be an elusive ideal, but in a practical sense, Mr. Franklin maintains, there is much our leaders can do to eliminate the color line."--The New York Times

About the Author

John Hope Franklin is the author of many books, including From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans and the highly acclaimed biography George Washington Williams. With more than ninety honorary degrees and dozens of other awards and honors, Franklin is the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History and, from 1985 to 1992, was Professor of Legal History in the Law School at Duke University.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Missouri Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0826208940
• ISBN 13: 9780826208941
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 104