Leid Stories—The Supreme Court As A Major Impediment to Social, Political and Economic Parity and Progress for People of Color in the United States—10.02.18

Summary: Dr. Calvin Schermerhorn, a historian (Arizona State University-Tempe) of slavery, capitalism and African American inequality and the author of several authoritative books, scholarly papers and articles on the subject, discusses the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in establishing and maintaining the legal badges of slavery and white supremacy in America. Dr. Schermerhorn's presentation draws a stark contrast against the popularly held view of the U.S. Supreme Court chiefly as a dispassionate interpreter of the law. Instead, he says, the nation's highest court was born in the crucible of slavery and white supremacy and enshrined those values and attitudes in the supreme "laws" of the land.