Justice Deferred: Race and the Supreme Court (A Book Talk by Dr. Vernon Burton)

The Supreme Court is usually seen as protector of our liberties: it ended segregation, was a guarantor of fair trials, and safeguarded free speech and the vote. But this narrative derives mostly from a short period, from the 1930s to the early 1970s.

Justice Deferred is the first book that comprehensively charts the Court’s race jurisprudence. Addressing nearly two hundred cases involving America’s racial minorities, the authors probe the parties involved, the justices’ reasoning, and the impact of individual rulings.

Speaker Bio: Orville Vernon Burton is the prizewinning author of several books, including The Age of Lincoln. He is Judge Matthew J. Perry, Jr., Distinguished Professor of History at Clemson University and Emeritus University Scholar and Professor of History at the University of Illinois.