African American Culture and Legal Discourse

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction: “Justice Unveiled”

      • Lovalerie King, Richard Schur

      Pages 1-10

3. Rights and Sovereignty

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

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   2. Reading Back, Reading Black, and Buck v. Bell

      • I. Bennett Capers

      Pages 13-22

   3. W. E. B. Du Bois and the Right to Privacy

      • Karla F. C. Holloway

      Pages 23-38

   4. Martin R. Delany and Rhetorics of Divided Sovereignty

      • Rochelle Raineri Zuck

      Pages 39-56

   5. On Black Freedmen in Indian Country

      • Matthew L. M. Fletcher

      Pages 57-73

   6. It Falls to You

      • William Gleason

      Pages 75-91

4. (Il)Legal Violence

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 93-93

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   2. Lucy Terry

      • Sharon M. Harris

      Pages 95-116

   3. The Fire Next Time and the Law

      • D. Quentin Miller

      Pages 117-130

   4. “Fists and the Voices of Sorrowful Women”

      • Charlton Copeland

      Pages 131-158

   5. When Testimony Fails

      • Rebecca Wanzo

      Pages 159-173

5. Owning Culture

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 175-175

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   2. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag

      • K. J. Greene

      Pages 177-189

   3. Legal Fictions

      • Richard Schur

      Pages 191-207

   4. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the Overdevelopment of Gangsta Rap

      • Akilah N. Folami

      Pages 209-231

   5. Afterword

      • Lovalerie King

      Pages 233-237

6. Back Matter

   Pages 239-257

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This work examines the experiences of African Americans under the law and how African American culture has fostered a rich tradition of legal criticism. Moving between novels, music, and visual culture, the essays present race as a significant factor within legal discourse. Essays examine rights and sovereignty, violence and the law, and cultural ownership through the lens of African American culture. The volume argues that law must understand the effects of particular decisions and doctrines on African American life and culture and explores the ways in which African American cultural production has been largely centered on a critique of law.

• America
• culture
• gender
• rhetoric
• Tradition

"This is a highly original, engagingscholarly contribution to an understanding of African American life, language, and law. It takes law and literature to a whole new level. The informative essays that comprise the book, whether personal reflections or technical explorations of statutes, are nothing short of refreshing - bold, informative, full of surprises." - Anita L. Allen, University of Pennsylvania School of Law

LOVALERIE KING is Associate Professor of English, Affiliate Faculty in Women's Studies, and Director of the Africana Research Center at Penn State-University Park, USA. 

RICHARD SCHUR is Associate Professor and Director of Interdisciplinary Studies at Drury University, USA.

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