Tag Archives: history

09.29.25
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Book Display Breakdown: Hispanic Heritage Month

In 1968, Congress voted to dedicate a week to celebrate the contributions and heritage of Americans tracing their roots back to the Spanish-speaking regions Spain and the Americas. In 1988, this celebration was extended to a month, beginning on September 15th to coincide with the independence days of several Central American nations. In modern times, the celebrations have grown to include those who identify under the umbrella of Latinx, who may not identify with the term Hispanic (for more information on the differences between Hispanic, Latinx, and Latine, see here). In celebration of this month, the College of Law Library has curated a selection of books related to Hispanic/Latinx heritage and history in the United States. The display is located next to the reference desk on the 5th floor, and all books are available to be checked out at the adjacent circulation desk. The books currently on display are listed below.

Sources: census.gov , hispanicmonth.org

Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A.

by Eduardo Obregón Pagán

“The notorious 1942 ‘Sleepy Lagoon’ murder trial in Los Angeles concluded with the conviction of seventeen young Mexican American men for the alleged gang slaying of fellow youth Jose Diaz. Just five months later, the so-called Zoot Suit Riot erupted, as white soldiers in the city attacked minority youths and burned their distinctive zoot suits. Eduardo Obregn Pagan here provides the first comprehensive social history of both the trial and the riot and argues that they resulted from a volatile mix of racial and social tensions that had long been simmering. In reconstructing the lives of the murder victim and those accused of the crime, Pagan contends that neither the convictions (which were based on little hard evidence) nor the ensuing riot arose simply from anti-Mexican sentiment. He demonstrates instead that a variety of pre-existing stresses, including demographic pressures, anxiety about nascent youth culture, and the war effort all contributed to the social tension and the eruption of violence. Moreover, he recovers a multidimensional picture of Los Angeles during World War II that incorporates the complex intersections of music, fashion, violence, race relations, and neighborhood activism. Drawing upon overlooked evidence, Pagan concludes by reconstructing the murder scene and proposes a compelling theory about what really happened the night of the murder.”–provided by publisher

The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader

edited by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic

“All too often, groups who do not effectively define themselves find that others assume the power to explain them. Until recently, this has certainly been the case with American Latinos/as, as evidenced by demeaning media stereotypes and the group’s near-invisibility in U.S. history texts. Indeed, as the demise of the Soviet empire shifted America’s national anxieties to domestic irritants, images of Latinos/as changed for the worse. Immigration reform acts in 1965 and 1986 brought millions of new immigrants from Latin American countries. By the end of the 1980s, their presence had become vexing to many. English-only movements sprang up. Bilingual education came under attack. Movements to close the border gained momentum. Now, Latinos/as are speaking back. The Latino Condition brings together some of these new voices, and some of the pioneers, in law, sociology, history, politics, and literature.”–Amazon.com

Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America

by Juan Gonzalez

“A sweeping history of the Latinx experience in the United States. The first new edition in ten years of this important study of Latinos in U.S. history, Harvest of Empire spans five centuries–from the European colonization of the Americas to the 2020 election. Latinos are now the largest minority group in the United States, and their impact on American culture and politics is greater than ever. With family portraits of real-life immigrant Latino pioneers, as well as accounts of the events and conditions that compelled them to leave their homelands, Gonzalez highlights the complexity of a segment of the American population that is often discussed but frequently misrepresented. This landmark history is required reading for anyone wishing to understand the history and legacy of this influential and diverse group.”– provided by publisher.

Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-2012

prepared under the direction of the Committee on House Administration of the U.S. House of Representatives, Daniel E. Lungren, chairman, Robert A. Brady, ranking minority member, by the Office of the Historian and Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.

“A compilation of historical essays and short biographies about 91 Hispanic-Americans who served in Congress from 1822 to 2012”–provided by publisher.

Being Brown: Sonia Sotomayor and the Latino Question

by Lázaro Lima.

“Sonia Sotomayor is the highest-ranking Latino/a in the United States. Her story of accomplishment and rise to the pinnacle of American public life seemed to herald a profound cultural and historical shift. Latinos are America’s largest minority and also its most disenfranchised. For many, Sotomayor’s ascent represented the elusive fulfillment of an American dream. A chronological narrative of her extraordinary life, Being Brown juxtaposes Sotomayor’s phenomenal successes with the twists and turns of minority inclusion in American democracy. Lázaro Lima also shows how Sotomayor’s own self-making as a Puerto Rican model of possibility allows us to understand not only the appeal but also the limits of representation. Culling through Sotomayor’s own writings, her Supreme Court dissents, and speeches, Lima questions what it means to have a powerful Latina in the Supreme Court. What does her ascent say about social mobility and inclusion? While Sotomayor’s story inspires hope, it also reveals much about the general lack of equality of Latinos and other disenfranchised communities”–provided by publisher.

Latino/a Rights and Justice in the United States: Perspectives and Approaches

by José Luis Morín.

“The U.S. Census Bureau has proclaimed Latinos as the “largest minority community” in the United States. Yet, biases and unequal treatment still plague this growing population, and its struggles to secure equal rights and justice remain largely unknown.

Linking international and domestic dimensions of the Latino/a presence in the United States, this book explores the historical and contemporary Latino/a experience of discrimination and economic and social injustice. Using Latino/a viewpoints, author Jose Luis Morin provides a deeper understanding of pressing issues within these communities, giving insights into the elusiveness of equality and fairness for Latinos/as in the United States. Morin also offers ideas on how to expose and reduce bias and other inequities within the justice system and the greater society.

In addition to presenting an alternative approach to working with Latino/a youths and families, this book calls for a broadening of existing concepts of rights and justice in the United States. In so doing, Morin incorporates international human rights norms and principles of economic, social, and cultural rights to address the persistent inequalities and injustices that Latino/a communities confront in the United States.”

05.14.25
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Book Display Breakdown: Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

The month of May marks Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a celebration recognizing the contributions, culture, and history of people of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent in the United States. Originally established as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week in 1978, the celebration was extended to be a month long in 1992, and the month of May chosen to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States in the 1800s. The Law Library is joining in the celebration with a display of books relating to AAPI history and culture, straight from our own stacks. Please stop by to take a look at the display, and even check out a book for yourself! The display is located next to the reference desk on the 5th floor.

Here’s a list of the books that are currently on display:

NCRR: the Grassroots Struggle for Japanese American Redress and Reparations by Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress

After the mass incarceration of Japanese-Americans into internment camps during the period of the United States’ involvement in World War II, the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations (NCRR) was established in order to advocate for justice for the victims and their families. This book dives into the origins of the NCCR, their grassroots efforts that ultimately led to the passing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and their continuing impact in this country.

Margins and Mainstreams: Asians in American History and Culture by Gary Y. Okihiro

Throughout a series of essays, Okihiro examines Asian-American history through the lens of what it means to be on the “margins” of a multicultural society and expected to conform to the “mainstream.” Using comparative analysis relating the experiences of Asian-Americans to that of other marginalized groups in the United States, Okihiro calls for a reshaping of the field of Asian-American studies.

Late Bloomers: a novel by Deepa Varadarajan

This is the debut novel of GSU College of Law faculty member Deepa Varadarajan! Late Bloomers focuses on the complex and interwoven lives of an Indian-American family in the wake of the parents’ divorce after thirty-six years of marriage.

The Rise and Fall of America’s Concentration Camp Law: Civil Liberties Debates from the Internment to McCarthyism and the Radical 1960s by Masumi Izumi

Izumi connects the precedent set by Japanese Internment in the United States to the passing of the Internal Security Act of 1950, an act that legalized preventative detention in the United States, and was used to expand the use of surveillance during the era of McCarthyism. 

Local story: the Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History by John P. Rosa.

Rosa uses the backdrop of the Massie-Kahahawai case of 1931-1932 to analyze the ways in which Asian immigrants, Native Hawaiians and white American military personnel interacted in US-annexed Hawaii.

Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans by Ronald Takaki

Takaki uses the format of narrative history to give a sweeping account of the diversity of the Asian-American experience in the United States, from the era of the transcontinental railroad to the modern day.

02.19.24
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CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Charles Hamilton Houston

For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.

by Sydney Hamilton, 1L

Charles Hamilton Houston in undated photo taken sometime between 1940-50. Photographer unknown. From the Library of Congress NAACP collection of portraits of founders, board members, staff, branch officers and other prominent cultural, social and political figures. LOT 13074, no 249 [P&P].

Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950)

Born in Washington, D.C., Charles Hamilton Houston first encountered the legal field through his father, a hard-working attorney in the nation’s capital. However, his father’s exemplary career did not solely inspire Houston to go down a similar path. After graduating from Amherst College and teaching at Howard University, Houston enlisted in the military when the First World War began. During this time, Houston experienced tremendous racial discrimination. He came to a bewildering epiphany: he served a country that did not even value his life and scorned his existence. “I made up my mind,” Houston once said, “that if I got through this war, I would study law and use my time fighting back for men who could not strike back.”[1]

Houston returned to the U.S. in April 1919, the beginning of a period now called the “Red Summer.” This period of violence resulted from several events. For one, the war had further encouraged the Great Migration, a mass emigration of Blacks to the North and the Midwest from the South, seeking to escape increasing racial violence and find better job opportunities. At the same time, the veterans were returning home from the war. This led to a flurry of emotions and opposing attitudes. Many White veterans and civilians were upset about Blacks “taking” jobs that Whites felt rightly belonged to them. Additionally, Whites feared that many of the Black veterans, now equipped with more experience and military training, would no longer allow themselves to be subjected to the racial status quo established in the U.S. On the other hand, many Black veterans were returning from foreign countries where they had been treated better and resented coming home to a country that did not appreciate their service. These rising tensions culminated in some of the bloodiest riots in American history, the worst occurring in Elaine, Arkansas, where at least 100 Black Americans were killed. However, this was notably one of the first times in U.S. history that the Black community had collectively fought back against racial violence.

These events colored Houston’s law school education when he entered Harvard Law School. While there, Houston became the first Black student elected to Harvard Law Review’s editorial board.  He later obtained a Sheldon Traveling Fellowship, which allowed him to study at the University of Madrid and earn a Civil Law degree. After graduating, Houston returned to Washington and joined his father’s law practice, one of the first Black law firms established in D.C.

A foundational tenant of Houston’s approach to the law was the importance of defending and protecting the Black community. He felt that Black lawyers had an obligation to argue on behalf of their community because White lawyers could not be depended on to fight against racial injustice. Eventually, Houston began teaching part-time at Howard Law School and was appointed vice-dean in 1929.  In his new role, Houston made it his mission to turn Howard Law School into a “training ground” for future civil rights lawyers, such as Thurgood Marshall. Before long, Houston turned the law school into a formidable institution, helping them to attain accreditation from the American Bar Association.

In 1935, Houston left Howard to work as the first special counsel for the NAACP. Houston’s main objective was to diminish and eventually abolish Jim Crow laws, which he did through his arguments in several civil rights cases. However, Houston’s most impactful contribution was his strategy to debunk the “separate but equal” myth from Plessy v Ferguson (1897). He first used this tactic in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1939), arguing that it was unconstitutional to prevent a Black applicant from attending a law school “when no comparable facility for Blacks existed in the State.” Winning that case proved the effectiveness of Houston’s ingenious approach.

Houston’s efforts officially paid off in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), when the courts declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Houston passed away four years earlier, in 1950, before seeing the fruits of his labor. However, his pupil, Thurgood Marshall, made the winning argument in the case. So, perhaps Houston’s spirit was present that day.  

[1] “Charles Hamilton Houston.” Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery, legacyofslavery.harvard.edu/alumni/charles-hamilton-houston. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

Other Sources:

“Charles Hamilton Houston.” Separate Is Not Equal: Brown V. Board of Education, americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/3-organized/charles-houston.html. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

“Charles Hamilton Houston.” NAACP, naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/civil-rights-leaders/charles-hamilton-houston. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

“Long Road to Brown: Cases and Lawyers: Charles Hamilton Houston.” Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise, www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/history/charleshouston.html. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

“Red Summer: The Race Riots of 1919.” The National WWI Museum and Memorial, http://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/red-summer. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

“Racial Violence and the Red Summer.” National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/wwi/red-summer. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

02.13.24
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CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Pauli Murray

For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.

by Sydney Hamilton, 1L

“Pauli Murray approx. 1955” by FDR Presidential Library & Museum is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Pauli Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985)

A frustrating truth about history is that for all the trailblazers and visionaries who fought for change, only a select few go down as household names. However, the present allows us to rediscover those figures that helped to ensure the very future we now sit in. One such figure is Pauli Murray.

As soon as they were born, Anne Pauline “Pauli” Murray could not ignore the subject of race. The violence of slavery impacted their family’s genetic makeup, as many of Murray’s ancestors were the children of white enslavers and enslaved Black women.  However, this resulted in what Murray described as a “mini-United Nations”[1] and that simply by existing, they defied an era shaped by segregation.

At age three, Murray’s mother died, and their father arranged for Murray to leave Baltimore and live with their maternal aunt and grandparents in Durham, North Carolina. Murray thrived in Durham, teaching themselves to read by age five. In school, Murray excelled academically and had their hands in as many extracurriculars as possible, from president of the literary society to editor-in-chief of the school newspaper to forward on the basketball team. It’s no wonder that, throughout their life, Murray would be known for wearing many hats.

In 1926, Murray graduated high school at 15 with qualifications to attend any university. While they dreamed of attending Columbia, the university did not accept women then. This reality of segregation by gender also infuriated them. Instead, Murray enrolled at Hunter College- a racially integrated women’s college in New York City.

During and after college, Murray began to question their gender and their sexuality and officially changed their name from “Anne Pauline” to “Pauli.” Murray experimented with dressing more masculine and even asked doctors to examine them, seeking gender-affirming treatments that did not exist then. Questions about their gender identity often influenced Murray’s writings about gender equality.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Murray truly stepped into their role as a civil rights activist. When Murray applied to the University of North Carolina for graduate school, they were rejected because of their race. In response, Murray began a letter-writing campaign, writing to several officials, such as the university presidents, newspapers, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The First Lady responded, and this correspondence led to a decades-long friendship between Pauli and Eleanor. Additionally, on a trip from New York to California in 1940, Murray and a friend were arrested when they refused to sit in the back of the bus. Later, while working for the Worker’s Defense League, Murray assisted in the case of a black sharecropper who had been sentenced to life for killing his white landlord during an argument. These events, among others, inspired Murray to pursue a legal education.

In 1941, Murray began attending Howard University Law School and was the only woman in their class. The experience led Murray to coin the term “Jane Crow,” similar to Jim Crow but focused on the inherent misogynoir of segregation. Murray continued to fight for equal rights, often leading protests and sit-ins on Howard University’s campus.

More than anything, it was Pauli Murray’s words which defined their life and, ultimately, the lives of so many others. In 1948, Murray published their first book, States’ Laws on Race and Color, a 700-hundred-page analysis and critique of segregation in the United States. The book greatly influenced Thurgood Marshall, who “referred to the work as ‘the bible’ of Brown v. Board of Education.”[2] A case argued by Murray and attorney Dorothy Kenyon for women to have the equal right to serve on juries inspired Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the point where, when Ginsburg wrote her brief for Reed v. Reed, a landmark decision that made differential treatment on the basis of sex unconstitutional, Ginsburg credited Murray as a co-author.[3]

Murray acquired many other accolades, like being the first Black person to receive a JSD from Yale Law School and the first Black woman to become an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. Though Murray’s name and life may not be familiar to some, their contributions have made an invaluable mark on history and the future as we know it. In 2024, Murray is scheduled to have their face featured on the U.S. Quarter, a tribute that should encourage more people to recognize Pauli Murray’s name.

[1] “Life Story: Pauli Murray (1910-1985).” Women & the American Story by the New-York Historical Society, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). wams.nyhistory.org/confidence-and-crises/world-war-ii/pauli-murray/.

[2] Emma Rothberg. “Pauli Murray.” National Women’s History Museum, (2021). http://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/pauli-murray.

[3] Philippa Strum. “Pauli Murray’s Indelible Mark on the Fight for Equal Rights.” American Civil Liberties Union, (June 24, 2020). https://www.aclu.org/issues/womens-rights/pauli-murrays-indelible-mark-fight-equal-rights.

Other sources:

Julian Cardillo. “Pauli Murray, Civil Rights Icon and Former Professor, to Appear on American Quarter.” Brandeis University, (Feb. 7, 2024). http://www.brandeis.edu/75/stories/pauli-murray-quarter.html.

“Pauli Murray.” Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshallfame/html/murray.html.

“Pauli Murray As a LGBTQ+ Historical Figure.” National Museum of African American History & Culture, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/pauli-murray-lgbtq-historical-figure.

“The Pioneering Pauli Murray: Lawyer, Activist, Scholar and Priest.” National Museum of African American History & Culture, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/pioneering-pauli-murray-lawyer-activist-scholar-and-priest.

“Who Is the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray?” Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). http://www.paulimurraycenter.com/who-is-pauli.

02.05.24
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CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Thurgood Marshall

For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.

by Sydney Hamilton, 1L

Photo taken by Yoichi R. Okamoto on June 13, 1967.

Thurgood Marshall (June 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993)

History often remembers Thoroughgood “Thurgood” Marshall as a focused, articulate man who dedicated his life to the law and the people. However, as a kid growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, his high school teachers knew Marshall better for being a bit of a class clown with a rambunctious nature. Funny enough, his punishment for misbehaving turned out to be a glimpse into his future: sitting on a bench, reading the Constitution.

As a Black boy living in the inner city, Marshall recognized the effects of segregation. However, being uniquely familiar with the Constitution, he realized understanding and reshaping the law would be the key to eliminating this injustice. After high school, Marshall attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where his classmates included the soon-to-be-renowned poet Langston Hughes.  After a hazing incident with his fraternity earned him a two-week suspension, Marshall focused his attention and energy on his academics. His involvement in the debate club furthered his passion to become a lawyer. In 1930, Marshall graduated at the top of his class.

After marrying his wife, Viven, Marshall continued to work towards his goal. However, the ever-looming presence of racial discrimination nearly thwarted his plans. The University of Maryland School of Law rejected Marshall based on his race. Instead, he attended Howard University but still dealt with financial burdens. His mother pawned her wedding rings to pay for his tuition.

During law school, he began to formulate the perspectives and arguments that would later define his career. While there, he studied under Charles Hamilton Houston, the vice dean at the law school and later, the director of NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund. Through Houston, Marshall better understood how the Constitution and the law could be used to extinguish racial discrimination. After graduating from Howard as valedictorian in 1933, Marshall moved back to Baltimore to take his first steps as a lawyer.

Back in Baltimore, Marshall opened his own practice, assisting clients even if they could not pay. Eventually, he dedicated more time to volunteering with the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP. One of Marshall’s first significant strides came in the case of Murray v. Pearson (1936). Just like Marshall, the University of Maryland Law School rejected Donald Murray because of the color of his skin. Marshall sued on Murray’s behalf and, assisting his mentor Houston, won the case.

Following this success, Marshall and Houston strategized how to chip away at the “separate but equal” doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that fueled segregation. In Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada (1938), the two men argued that the University of Missouri had violated Lloyd Gaines’s equal protection rights by rejecting him due to his race and thereby denying him legal education equivalent to what white students received. Winning this case set the stage for Marshall’s most memorable victory.

After Houston retired, Marshall took over Houston’s position at the NAACP. He continued to win several more cases before finally landing on the one that would forever impact history: Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In this case, which was five separate cases consolidated into one, Marshall argued that segregating the school system was unequal and unconstitutional. During the second hearing, Marshall stated that segregation evolved from a desire to keep “the people who were formerly in slavery as near to that stage as possible.” After much indecision and deliberation, the Supreme Court finally ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine should not take precedence in the public education system.

In the years following that decision, Marshall was appointed as a federal judge and then Solicitor General before eventually being appointed as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967.  As a Justice, Marshall was known for his progressive views and strong moral compass, opposing the death penalty and ensuring the civil rights of all people. Marshall served 25 terms before retiring in 1991 as one of the greatest voices on the Supreme Court.

Sources:

Justice Thurgood Marshall profile – Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment. United States Courts. (n.d.). https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/justice-thurgood-marshall-profile-brown-v-board

Brown v. Board of Education: The case that changed America. Legal Defense Fund. (2023, December 15). https://www.naacpldf.org/brown-vs-board/

History – Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment. United States Courts. (n.d.). https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment

Thurgood Marshall. Oyez. (n.d.). https://www.oyez.org/justices/thurgood_marshall