Unavailable for a decade, now completely updated to the 1990s, this landmark book is a powerful indictment of
federal use of the Constitution to maintain a racist status quo. Constitutional scholar Mary Frances Berry analyzes
the reasons why millions of African Americans whose lives have improved enormously, both socially and economically,
are still at risk of police abuse and largely unprotected from bias crimes. From the arrival of the first twenty
slaves in Jamestown in 1619 through the founding of the nation, from the Civil War and Reconstruction to the Reagan-Bush
years and the Howard Beach, Yusef Hawkins, and Rodney King incidents, federal law enforcement has pleaded lack
of authority against white violence while endorsing surveillance of black rebels and using "constitutional"
military force against them. Whether by action or inaction, the national government has used the Constitution to
deny blacks their effective legal rights. The recent upsurge in racial intimidation and violence makes this completely
revised and expanded edition of Black Resistance/White Law essential reading.