In the 1960s, the campaign against Jim Crow laws in the South was mounted not only in the streets but also in the courts, especially because a few hundred attorneys from outside the region represented civil rights activists. The demographic of this group is striking. Nearly all of these attorneys were white men; nearly all of them were Jews, including a young Barney Frank. By challenging legally-enforced segregation, these members of the bar made “the equal protection of the laws” more widely applicable even outside the South. Yet what they accomplished is yet to be adequately told, or appreciated. This presentation by Brandeis professor emeritus Stephen Whitfield is intended to rectify some of that neglect. Part of the Newton History Series with the Newton Free Library. Register here.
