Unlikely Heroes

by Jack Bass

Bass's unlikely heroes are the federal judges -- primarily those on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals -- who vigorously and skillfully implemented Brown v. Board of Education in six southern states. The rich profiles show the character of the men who gave up prosperous lives, popularity, and friends to see that the constitutional rights of all citizens were protected.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Law

352 pages, Hardcover

First published June 26, 1981

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great. A thoroughly well written, well researched account of how four Fifth Circuit judges shepherded the South through the Civil Rights Era and crafted much of the legal reasoning that the Supreme Court would ultimately adopt in its most famous civil rights cases.

As a lawyer interested in politics and history I was surprised by how much of this history was completely foreign to me. Part of the problem, I think, is that the frames we use to discuss this Era and its actors don't always comport with the messiness on the ground. We're taught that the Civil Rights Era was a triumph of politics and activism--judicial power was secondary and, maybe with the exception of Brown v. Board, followed slowly behind the grassroots activism/politics.

This book blows a hole in that narrative. According to Bass, the Fifth Circuit was an integral player in every facet of the activist saga we think we know. During the Meredith's attempt to integrate Ole Miss, it was Fifth Circuit judges who were in conversation with the DOJ and the Governors Office trying to broker a deal to keep the peace. During the Freedom Rides, Fifth Circuit judges were working with NAACP and Inc. lawyers throughout the planning and implementation process to make sure the courts were prepared to handle the legal fallout that would undoubtedly ensue. While we may criticize some of that activity today as extra-judicial, these judge saw it as a part and parcel of their broader mandate to protect federal law and individual rights. In some ways this required that they be as much political actors as judicial actors, and their reputations rose and fell as such.

One of the insights that struck me most here was just how clear-eyed these judges were about the power and limits of social movements. They understood, for example, that a strong social movement for political or legal change can give government actors significant cover to move the law in a way they otherwise could not. But they also understood that such cover was fleeting. Social conflagrations are like explosions--they're loud, powerful, disruptive, but fast. If you don't take advantage of the energy that the explosion releases in the moment, you give opposing forces time to gather and solidify a political opposition. These judges--as well as the southern politicians--understood that if the energy from protests wasn't harnessed quickly to create political change, it would be much harder to so down the line as opposition metastasized.

These judges also recognized that legal change can often beget social change. They knew that if they just pushed the law in the right direction--despite vociferous pushback from the white majority--eventually the social mores would follow what the law sanctioned and what it did not. They didn't mind pushing a little (or a lot) farther than the South was willing to go because they were confident that public opinion would eventually follow the law's moral signals. Our judges today may have lost sight of that truth, as they seem unwilling to be the first movers on just about any significant moral question. Maybe that's ultimately a good thing, but it is certainly a departure from the way these judges thought about the law and its relationship to public morality.

Overall, I highly recommend this one for just about anyone. It's one of the first books I've read in a while that made me want to read the sources in the bibliography.

[James Ruley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlikely Heroes tells the story of the desegregation of the South during the 1950s and 1960s. It focuses on the efforts of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, particularly Judges Brown, Rives, Tuttle, and Wisdom (“the Four”). The tale is riveting, and Bass does a great job explaining how the court operated and how decisions were made. There is much to respect about the efforts of these judges. That being said, Bass is quick to minimize judges who offered different jurisprudential perspectives on segregation. Although he understandably sided with the Four on their outcomes, I wish he had provided a more nuanced explanation of the opinions of other members of the court. All in all, however, this book was a fascinating and enlightening perspective on the court’s impact on desegregation.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive and fascinating look at the judges who worked to integrate the South. These men made the decisions others would have been afraid to make. The books over along well. My one criticism is that the author does not always give you the backdrop of a case so you need to figure out the issue.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting look inside the inner workings of the judiciary during the Civil Rights era.