The book, which stems from a Columbia Law School conference celebrating the birth of the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights, is divided into five parts.
Part I places the Federalism Revolution into historical perspective and explains the relationship between federalism—the struggle for power between the states and the federal government—and civil rights. Part II illustrates how the rollback of civil rights has affected the lives of all Americans—the elderly, workers, language minorities, women, the disabled, immigrants, people of color, and sexual minorities. Part III discusses how those decisions have, in addition, restricted access to courts to ensure the fair provision of government services, including education, health care, the environment, our criminal justice system, and immigration. Part IV exposes the incoherency of the Court’s appeal to federalism—which has veiled its campaign to dismantle federal protections for individual rights. Part V offers readers hopeful approaches to revitalizing civil rights and democracy.
The foreword is written by Professor Erwin Chemerinsky of Duke University School of Law.
