Groundwork: Charles Hamilton Houston and the Struggle for Civil Rights

"A classic. . . . [It] will make an extraordinary contribution to the improvement of race relations and the understanding of race and the American legal process."--Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., from the Foreword

Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950) left an indelible mark on American law and society. A brilliant lawyer and educator, he laid much of the legal foundation for the landmark civil rights decisions of the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the lawyers who won the greatest advances for civil rights in the courts, Justice Thurgood Marshall among them, were trained by Houston in his capacity as dean of the Howard University Law School. Politically Houston realized that blacks needed to develop their racial identity and also to recognize the class dimension inherent in their struggle for full civil rights as Americans.

Genna Rae McNeil is thorough and passionate in her treatment of Houston, evoking a rich family tradition as well as the courage, genius, and tenacity of a man largely responsible for the acts of "simple justice" that changed the course of American life.

Author: Genna Rae McNeil
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Published: 08/01/1984
Pages: 344
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.60w x 0.10d
ISBN: 9780812211795


Review Citation(s):
Black Issues Book Review 05/01/2004 pg. 22

About the Author
Genna Rae McNeil is Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago.