"America's Other Clan: The United States Supreme Court" uses primary source documents to explore how the Supreme Court shaped civil rights throughout our country's history. The book gives students of American history the opportunity to examine excerpts from court decisions and consider their consequences. This work details the practice of slavery in the American colonies and the various state and federal cases that led to a hardening of views about its viability. High-Court cases, post Civil War, are examined to illustrate the erosion of Civil Rights Acts and Amendments.
The beginnings of the Jim Crow era are discussed, as is the early 20th Century concept of nativism. Blatant and brutal incidents involving lynching are studied from legal, historical and social perspectives. The book details the events and cases leading up to the historic "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas" decision, which began the process of ending some forms of segregation. A final chapter continues this research through the present day, raising probing questions about racism, prejudice and how we view our society in the future.
"America's Other Clan" can serve as a stand-alone or supplemental text in courses on American history and civil rights. The book also provides fascinating insight for general readers and anyone with an interest in this overlooked aspect of history.
Albert Slomovitz is an educator who holds multiple advanced degrees including a Ph.D. in American and Ethnic History from Loyola University of Chicago. Dr. Slomovitz served as a chaplain in the United States Navy for twenty years. After his military service, he joined the faculty of Kennesaw State University, where he teaches American History. In 1999, New York University published his first book, "The Fighting Rabbis."