The Civil Rights Era arguably began in 1954, when the US Supreme Court desegregated the public schools — in a decision that was unanimous. This week the US Supreme Court made history with rulings on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and two cases involving same-sex marriage, but what kind of history? The court is so sharply divided that legal scholars are still trying to figure out what the decisions will mean. Can states and local agencies now get away with denying minorities the right to vote? What's next for same-sex marriage? We talk with civil-rights historian Taylor Branch and others about what happened this week and what to expect in the future.
US Supreme Court and the Convoluted History of Civil Rights
Credits
Guests:
- Peniel Joseph - historian and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, founder of the school’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy - @PenielJoseph
- Ilya Shapiro - Cato Institute - @ishapiro
- Taylor Branch - Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian - @taylorbranch
- Teresa Stanton Collett - St. Thomas School of Law
- Adam Winkler - professor of law at UCLA, and author of "Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America" - @adamwinkler