The Derrick Bell Reader: (Critical America)

Lawyer, activist, teacher, writer: for over forty years, Derrick Bell has provoked his critics and challenged his readers with uncompromising candor and progressive views on race and class in America. A founder of Critical Race Theory and pioneer of the use of allegorical stories as tools of analysis, Bell's extraordinary work shatters conventional legal orthodoxies and turns comfortable majoritarian myths inside out. While his writing spans several decades and addresses a myriad of topics, it has never been collected in a single volume until now. Edited with an extensive introduction by leading critical race theorists Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, The Derrick Bell Reader consists of fifteen thematic chapters that reflect the tremendous breadth of issues that Bell has grappled with over his phenomenal career, including affirmative action, black nationalism, and legal education and ethics. Some pieces are written in elegant expository prose, such as meditations on the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision; others in the narrative form for which Bell is famous, particularly his signature Geneva Crenshaw chronicles. The book also includes never before published material by Bell, including poetry and the startling letter of resignation he submitted to the dean of Harvard Law School in protest of the lack of women of color on the faculty. Together, the selections offer the most complete collection of Derrick Bell's writing available today.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Prologue: The Chronicle of the Constitutional Contradiction Chapter 1: Economic Determinism and Interest Convergence Chapter 2: Racial Realism Chapter 3: Ethics of Lawyering Chapter 4: Revisionist History Chapter 5: Sexuality and Romance Chapter 6: Politics of the Academy Chapter 7: Nationalism, Separatism, and Self-HelpChapter 8: Price of Racial Remedies Chapter 9: Pedagogy Chapter 10: Racial Standing Chapter 11: Racism as Meanness Chapter 12: Popular Democracy Chapter 13: Race and Class Chapter 14: Survival Strategies Chapter 15: Critiques BibliographyIndex About the Editors

About the Author :
Richard Delgado is Derrick A. Bell Fellow and Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh. Jean Stefancic is Derrick A. Bell Scholar and Research Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh. Their publications include Critical Race Theory: An Introduction and The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader, both published by NYU Press. Derrick Bell is visiting professor of law at New York University School of Law. He is the author of many books, including Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform, Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth, and Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism.

Review :
"A growing number of scholars have helped us understand the law's impact on both the major events and the minutia of our daily lives. It's safe to say, however, that few do so with the provocative verve and vigor of Derrick Bell. This volume is a must read for long-time followers of Derrick Bell's work as well as casual readers looking for material that is both intellectually stimulating and entertaining."--Henry Louis Gates, Jr., co-author of The Future of the Race"Finally, the essence of Derrick Bell as a scholar, teacher, and activist is captured in the Derrick Bell Reader. Bell's remarkable career, as a civil rights attorney, scholar on race and justice, and activist promoting the rights of all citizens, is fully addressed. It is a great read."--Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., author of All Deliberate Speed"Derrick Bell's impressive body of scholarship continues to inspire generations of readers by inviting them into an extended conversation between him and a community of people who gave life to his vision and generously shared their own wisdom in search of justice."--Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres, co-authors of The Miner's Canary"Biting, intense, full of dramatic surprises and brilliant insights, Bell's work is the antidote to all the feel-good narratives of racial change."--Duncan Kennedy, author of Legal Education and the Reproduction of Hierarchy"For those who agree, or disagree, with Bell's radical departure from accepted racial notions, The Derrick Bell Reader offers plenty to dissect. The book could not have arrived at a better time."--Brian Gilmore, Howard University School of Law