Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform

by Derrick Bell (Author)

15 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0195182477

ISBN-10: 0195182472

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When the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education was handed down in 1954, many civil rights advocates believed that the decision, which declared public school segregation unconstitutional, would become the Holy Grail of racial justice. Fifty years later, despite its legal irrelevance and the racially separate and educationally ineffective state of public schooling for most black children, Brown is still viewed by many as the perfect precedent.

Here, Derrick Bell shatters the shining image of this celebrated ruling. He notes that, despite the onerous burdens of segregation, many black schools functioned well and racial bigotry had not rendered blacks a damaged race. He maintains that, given what we now know about the pervasive nature of racism, the Court should have determined instead to rigorously enforce the "equal" component of the "separate but equal" standard. Racial policy, Bell maintains, is made through silent covenants--unspoken convergences of interest and involuntary sacrifices of rights--that ensure that policies conform to priorities set by policy-makers. Blacks and whites are the fortuitous winners or losers in these unspoken agreements. The experience with Brown, Bell urges, should teach us that meaningful progress in the quest for racial justice requires more than the assertion of harms. Strategies must recognize and utilize the interest-convergence factors that strongly influence racial policy decisions.

In Silent Covenants, Bell condenses more than four decades of thought and action into a powerful and eye-opening book.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mournful.... Captures the significance of Brown at the time of its pronouncement and of African Americans' then-unconquerable optimism about the country's ultimate goodness."--Debra J. Dickerson, Mother Jones

"Bell, always a self-consciously provocative writer, remains true to form in Silent Covenants. In his most creative chapter, Bell imagines an alternative Brown decision that would have upheld segregation but insisted on the equalization of resources between blacks and whites. Had that road been followed, he suggests, black children might have gotten the education they needed and deserved."--Boston Globe

"Provocatively sardonic.... His pervasive melancholy may surprise readers who expect movement veterans to celebrate victories rather than rue their missteps, but to Bell the very perception of Brown as a victory is a 'mirage' that must be vanquished."--Chicago Tribune

"A bold and sobering counterproposal."--The New Yorker

About the Author

Derrick Bell is Visiting Professor of Law at New York University Law School. As an NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawyer, he handled and supervised hundreds of school desegregation cases during the 1960s. He is the author of several books, including And We Are Not Saved. He lives in New York City.

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press (August 18, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195182472
ISBN-13: 978-0195182477
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.7 x 5.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 15 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #182 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Political Science > Civil Rights
- #238 in Books > Textbooks > Law > Constitutional Law
- #555 in Books > Law > Constitutional Law > General

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Lindsay Baker

A Very Eye-Opening Read

August 21, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

My only complaint is that it was written for people already inclined to agree with him. I wish he had written to poor white people instead of other academics. Some of his complaints were a bit of a stretch which might discredit his arguments to some readers like poor white people, but if you read it with an open mind, you might think much differently about race relations in the United States.

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Yo Mama

An illuminating read!

August 27, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Derrick Bell does a fantastic job recounting his personal experiences while delving deep into the ramifications of the Brown v. Board of Ed decision. This book helped to illuminate a very complex topic for me.

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Lorena

September 16, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

excellent, addresses the issue and unveils the political and power structures i was not aware existed. recommended for those people committed to social change and equality

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March 2, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book does a great job outlining the journey of African American's in our public education system. I really like the alternative solution to the Brown vs Board of Education case, but alas that's not the direction we went and we didn't have the benefit of hindsight.

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William D

As always Derrick Bell is thought provoking

September 11, 2005

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Excellent, Derrick Bell gives a deeper meaning to the Brown decision.

2 people found this helpful

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October 17, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

An interesting perspective that rings true.

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Ashleigh Schroeder Ferguson

Half of the pages were missing!!!

January 30, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

half of the chapters were actually ripped out of the book...I did not notice until i went to use it for my class & by then it was too late to return! what a joke!!! so deceiving & unethical!!

One person found this helpful

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S. J. Snyder

Great intro to Bell's thought on several issues

May 14, 2016

First, the fun of getting to break pristine ground as first reviewer of a book ... kind of sad that the book is 12 years old, and from a thoughtful writer.

That said, I largely agree with Bell, and with other authors who have also raised some of the same points.

"Equal" is about more than just physical integration, to the degree that was ever possible. It's also about equality in financial and other resources, and within integrated classrooms, equality of student treatment by teachers. None of that comes easily, and much of it hasn't come much further than physical integration.

He (as do other authors) note that much of the problem lies with the Supreme Court's "Brown II" ruling, which imposed no timetables and led to Southern behavior dilatory at best, intransigent at worst. (It's interesting as a historical counterfactual to wonder what would have happened if Warren had junked the desire for unanimity in remedy on Brown II, and even dropped hints that 7 votes were fine and he'd accept 6. Frankfurter would have either become more truculent, or let himself be drug along into something more than "all deliberate speed," and other holdouts might have taken note.)

From here, Bell looks at alternatives, such as African-American specific charter schools and even homeschooling. He notes both their promises and perils while encouraging an open mind to all alternatives.

That said, I did have a few "issues" with the book, generally related to Bell's Critical Race Theory background.

1. In things like Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, he seems to almost always treat improvements in racial issues in American life, when offered by white Americans, as a zero-sum game, namely that they're always done for white self interest. Why can't something be seen as, say 85 percent white self interest but yet 15 percent true benevolence.

2. "Privilege" and related issues, which have spilled into today's "social justice warrior" world. It's a relatively useful generalization, and generalizations, as compared to stereotypes, are of real value. But, generalizations can be pushed too far, and even way too far, to the point of becoming stereotypes. Plus, when dealing with individuals as individuals, it's usually better to try to remove generalization lenses.

3. Bell at one point in the book, in discussing reparations (an issue that is "fraught" among many African-Americans as well as liberal whites) claims that American Indians have received reparations. Other than small reparations to small individual tribes that don't stick out on my radar screen, this is definitely news to me — and, I venture, to millions of American Indians.

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Most recent customer reviews

The Cat-Tribe

An educating powerhouse

Professor Bell sets forth a powerful set of arguments in support of a proposition he knows will face instant, strong opposition from his target audience: those who care about...Read more

Published on September 15, 2014

Benjamin R Davis

Great read for context on the issue of race in America

While somewhat of a revisionists history (and admittedly so), this is a great book by one of the pioneers on the issue of race and the law!

Published on January 8, 2013

Frank Lee

separate but equal

disgraceful. one of the civil rights era's greatest accomplishments was torpedoing the bigoted notion of separate but equal...Read more

Published on March 13, 2012

Amazon Customer

Stimulating Read

This is a book that I think anyone interested in the Civil Rights movement should read. It will make you think about the Brown v. Board decision in a different way.Read more

Published on December 6, 2005

Alan MillsTop Contributor: Fantasy Books

Thinking about Brown v. Board of Ed--not honoring it

Read this book. It makes you think critically, challenge your assumptions, and argue with the author. What more can you ask of a book?Read more

Published on December 18, 2004

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