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Complex Justice: The Case of Missouri V. Jenkins
- ISBN-100807831395
- ISBN-13978-0807831397
- PublisherThe University of North Carolina Press
- Publication dateApril 14, 2008
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
- Print length240 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
Deeply researched, well informed, and clearly written. . . . A premier case study of race and education in the 1980s and 1990s.--The Journal of Southern History
Review
A premier case study of race and education in the 1980s and 1990s.--Journal of Southern History
Enlightening. . . . A highly informative and readable book that nicely blends legal and policy analysis. Complex Justice provides the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the historical, political, and social issues involved in Missouri v. Jenkins.--Law & Politics Review
A nicely written volume about a lesser-known case.--Choice
Joshua Dunn provides a penetrating and fascinating analysis of the Kansas City school desegregation decision. I thought I knew a lot about it before reading this book, but I learned much of interest here. Dunn's discussion of the shifting views of local African Americans is particularly illuminating.--Stephan Thernstrom, Harvard University
The case of Missouri v. Jenkins is notable because of the exceptionally broad remedy ordered by the federal courts and the vast sums poured into the school district as a result of the lawsuit. It is also notable because of the disappointingly limited results achieved in terms of either meaningful desegregation or improved academic achievement for the intended beneficiaries of the massive legal effort. Dunn tells this ironic tale well and places the events in legal and political context. Complex Justice will prove highly useful to readers in law, legal studies, public policy, and political science.--David I. Levine, Hastings College of the Law, University of California
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : The University of North Carolina Press (April 14, 2008)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0807831395
- ISBN-13 : 978-0807831397
- Item Weight : 1.08 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,367,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #485 in Discrimination Constitutional Law (Books)
- #14,019 in Discrimination & Racism
- #15,156 in Law (Books)
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In a way, it is a story of America, where strongly held attitudes supporting flawed policies lead to extreme countermovements. Kansas City is a special tragedy because the city was noted for its early progressive attitude toward desegregation. The city had model growth following overthrow of the Pendergast machine in 1938. The quality of its housing for all income levels was exceptional (distinctively using local limestone for construction). Its schools were a source of pride. as were its park systems and residential developments (except for restrictive covenants that have clouded the name of J.C. Nichols, their noted architect).
Court-ordered busing that ended in1995 effectively left much of central-northern Kansas city moon landscape, and the city lost some 50,000 population over 20 years. The road back has been long and painful. Ironically, two outstanding formerly Black high schools, Lincoln in KCMO, and Sumner HS in Kansas City Kansas ,were not shut down or merged as were most segregated high schools elsewhere in the U.S.. They became "college preparatory academies" and remain the best high schools in their respective parts of Kansas City. Lincoln is 95% minority while Sumner is approximately 50% Black and has maintained the highest verbal scores among Kansas high schools.
The few but significant reviews tell their own story. Like many contemporary Americans, the three-star reviewer is impatient with authoritative detail no matter how significant the issue. Other reviews mention cities (e.g. Cleveland) that had troubled busing histories.
A distinguished black political scientist and I recently included Missouri among the significant areas for pre-desegregation Black education in America in an article. The histories of high-quality African American secondary education in Kansas City and St. Louis extend back to the early years of the 20th Century. Black families from more rural areas of the State were attracted to work opportunities and good Black schools in these cities. Race prejudice, though present, was not as harsh as in the deeper South.
if books like this became better known instead of the usual works that land on the bestseller and top Amazon reviewer lists we could have the kind of citizen knowledgeability that would help resolve many of the problems we now experience.
My own interest in the book was as an attorney who feels strongly that our courts should not be making policy--that's the job of our elected officials. This book is red meat for anyone with that philosophy. But at almost 200 pages of text, and a number of footnotes I admit having not read, I found it quite a bit too long. I would have been satisfied with a "think piece" in one of the few remaining magazines which offer such material--perhaps The Atlantic. Having said which, if one is looking for an encyclopedic report on what can go wrong when well-meaning people try to implement bad plans, it's all here. But I would think anyone interested in the issues would already be well aware of how petty the bickering of frustrated folk convinced of their own rectitude can be.
My only other criticism is that even as an attorney quite familiar with articles laden with case references I had difficulty with his handling of the cases that lay behind the difficulties with which the District Court and Eighth Circuit were struggling. To most readers, including me, the names of the cases appearing in text some number of pages after after they first mentioned doesn't bring back to mind the principle (if any) of that case. Far more helpful to assign a nickname to the few key cases, so that when they reappear it is easier to remember what they stood for. And to avoid citation of more than a single case to illustrate a point--it isn't necessary.
With no prior knowledge of the case, I felt that Dunn was an excellent autor. He took pains to explain why decdisions were made as they were, and avoided casting blame too casually.