In Brown's Wake

What is the legacy of Brown vs. Board of Education? In this book, renowned legal scholar Martha Minow assesses the success and limitations of legal reforms that followed in the half century-long wake of this landmark decision. Minow argues that Brown was more influential and more effective in American law and society outside the schools, and its influence on the international human rights movement was just as significant as its impact within the United States. Equally important, this book is the first to examine the influence of Brown on treatment of gender, disability, language, immigration status, sexual orientation, religion, and school choice in American schools. This is a re-examination of the influence of Brown v. Board of Education that neither celebrates nor condemns the departure from its vision; it honors its accomplishments while addressing the complex issues it helped launch in and beyond racial justice. Minow concludes that though the promise of Brown remains more symbolic than effective, critical elements of the decision offer benchmarks of genuine significance in the struggles for justice in this new century.

Martha Minow is Dean and Jeremiah Smith, Jr., Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where she has taught since 1981. She is an expert in human rights and advocacy for members of racial and religious minorities, women, children, and persons with disabilities. Her prior books include Government by Contract; Just Schools; Breaking the Cycles of Hatred; Partners, Not Rivals; Between Vengeance and Forgiveness; Not Only for Myself; and Making All the Difference.