On the Limits of the Law: Ironic Legacy of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

On the Limits of the Law is Stephens Halpern's compelling examination of the legal struggle to control the enforcement of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act-the historic provision prohibiting racial discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance. Although the provision appeared to have immense power to fight racial inequality in education, Halpern argues, attacking the problem through legal rights and litigation distorted our understanding of educational inequality based on race and limited the remedies used to address it. Halpern also shows how this focus on legal recourse led to the expansion of the civil rights movement in the 1970s and 1980s to include groups such as Hispanics, women, the elderly, and the handicapped. As the injuries experienced by these different groups were increasingly portrayed as comparable to - if not indistinguishable from - those suffered by black Americans, the later came to be viewed as one of many historically mistreated groups. In that change, Halpern concludes, the nation lost its sense of the unparalleled place, the virulent force, and the unique historical evil of racial discrimination.

About the Author :
Stephen C. Halpern is professor of political science at the State University of New York at Buffalo and senior research associate at the University's Center for Applied Public Affairs.

Review :

Stephen Halpern has joined the growing number of scholars on the liberal-left of American politics who question the utility of pursuing social reform through the federal courts... this book represents a valuable contribution to the search for fresh ideas by the liberal-left on combating racial discrimination.--Robert McKeever "Political Studies "

Stephen Halpern has written an important book about the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The thoughtful book explores important issues in a serious and careful manner... What Halpern so eloquently teaches us is that the progress we have made has come at considerable cost to the political fortunes of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.--Dan A. Lewis "The Law and Politics Book Review "

"Stephen Halpern has joined the growing number of scholars on the liberal-left of American politics who question the utility of pursuing social reform through the federal courts... this book represents a valuable contribution to the search for fresh ideas by the liberal-left on combating racial discrimination." -- Robert McKeever, Political Studies

"Stephen Halpern has written an important book about the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The thoughtful book explores important issues in a serious and careful manner... What Halpern so eloquently teaches us is that the progress we have made has come at considerable cost to the political fortunes of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party." -- Dan A. Lewis, The Law and Politics Book Review