An edition of A time to lose (1995)

A time to lose

representing Kansas in Brown v. Board of Education

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Last edited by MARC Bot
July 17, 2024 | History
An edition of A time to lose (1995)

A time to lose

representing Kansas in Brown v. Board of Education

  • 1 Want to read

This thoughtful and engaging memoir opens up a previously hidden side to what many consider the most important Supreme Court decision of the twentieth century. With quiet candor Paul Wilson reflects upon his role as the Kansas assistant attorney general assigned "to defend the indefensible" - the policy of "separate but equal" that was overturned on May 17, 1954 by Linda Brown's precedent-shattering suit.

The Brown decision ended legally sanctioned racial segregation in our nation's public schools, expanded the constitutional concepts of equal protection and due process of law, and in many ways launched the modern civil rights movement. Since that time, it has been cited by appellate courts in thousands of federal and state cases analyzed in hundreds of books and articles, and remains a cornerstone of law school education.

Wilson reminds us that Brown was not one case but fourincluding similar cases in South Carolina, Virginia and Delaware - and that it was only a quirk of fate that brought this young lawyer to center stage at the Supreme Court. But the Kansas case and his own role, he argues, were different from the others in significant ways. His recollections reveal why.

Recalling many events known only to Brown insiders, Wilson re-creates the world of 1950s Kansas, places the case in the context of those times and politics, provides important new information about the states ambivalent defense, and then steps back to suggest some fundamental lessons about his experience, the evolution of race relations and the lawyer's role in the judicial resolution of social conflict.

Throughout these reflections Wilson's voice shines through with sincerity, warmth, and genuine humility. Far from a self-serving apology by one of history's losers, his memoir reminds us once again that there are good people on every side of the issues that divide us and that truth and meaning are not the special preserve of history's winners.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
252

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Edition Availability
Cover of: A time to lose
A time to lose: representing Kansas in Brown v. Board of Education
1995, University Press of Kansas
in English

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-245) and index.

Published in
Lawrence, Kan

Classifications

Library of Congress
KF4155 .W545 1995, KF4155.W545 1995

The Physical Object

Pagination
xvii, 252 p. :
Number of pages
252

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL1115090M
ISBN 10
0700607099
LCCN
94041098
OCLC/WorldCat
31434890
Library Thing
1127163
Amazon ID (ASIN)
B00086PG8W
Better World Books
BWB22046018
Goodreads
2173936

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July 17, 2024 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
June 17, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
December 4, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Added subjects from MARC records.
April 28, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Linked existing covers to the work.
December 10, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page