Race Results: Hollywood vs the Supreme Court - Ten Decades of Racial Decisions and Film

Racism in America: An Examination of Two Disparate Views

Eileen Comerford Moore has expanded her Master's Thesis into an immensely readable book that examines racism in America in a unique slant - the surprisingly biased and negative view of the 'platform of American opinion' AKA the Hollywood movies versus the equally surprising intelligent consistency of the often maligned views and rulings of the Supreme Court - and in doing so she has maintained a straightforward style of writing that allows the reader to join her journey from the Civil War to the present in a thoughtful analysis of the plight of the African American struggle for equality.

Moore comes to her subject well prepared: as a combat nurse in Vietnam she had direct daily exposure to the rarely discussed racism present in the armed forces, even in battle; as a trial judge on the California Superior Court and now as a Justice on the California Courts of Appeal she sits before arguments on both sides of racial issues, and has direct studies of Supreme Court history and rulings. Couple this experience with her fascination of the manner in which Hollywood, once thought the liberal platform for potent issues, has dealt with racial issues and the result is a fascinating, well documented (and illustrated!) study of racism from the Supreme Court rulings at the time of the Civil War, through the subsequent discrimination she witnessed as a child, and especially through a decade by decade study of movies from 'The Birth of a Nation' in 1915 to present day films. The results are surprising and at times shocking!

At times controversial, at times illuminating, Moore's book provides a fine survey of the fight for racial equality in America. What makes this book's release even more cogent is the present status in this country, now with an African American President. Her presentation is revealing, wise, and readable, and should find its way into classrooms as well as libraries of all who care about racial equality.

Grady Harp