The Courts and the Legislature

Using both Rosa Parks and the Brown decision as a springboard, Jim Cobb, one of the great historians of our time, addresses what many (especially on the liberal side of the spectrum) assume to be a disjunction between the courts and the legislatures in thisThe New Republic online piece. He effectively argues that the struggle for racial justice came about as the result of both court decisions and legislation prompted by the impetus of the Civil Rights Movement. To most historians this would seem blindingly obvious. But as Cobb reminds us, the celebrations of Rosa Parks' life have been wholly affirmative, whereas last year's commemoration of the 50th annivarsary of Brown carried with it quite a bit of pessimism. Cobb's piece quite effectively tilts the balance back where it belongs. I'd probably categorize this as essential reading, or pretty darned close to it.