Civil Rights Movements & the Law

In this episode, Grace Khachaturian sits down with Rhea Ballard-Thrower, professor of law and dean of libraries at the University of Illinois Chicago, to share about her work teaching incarcerated individuals — a mission rooted in her belief in education as a catalyst for transformation.

"The ACLU was involved in excess of 1,190 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court as a party, counsel of record/ACLU attorney, or as the filer of an amicus (friend of the court) brief, during 94 of its first 100 years, ending in January 19, 2020. This handbook summarizes all the facts and statistics from its companion three-volume set of over 1,190 cases (from June 8, 1925, Gitlow v. New York), and contains three examples of the case summaries found in the three-volume set." -- Publisher's website.

Welcome We're an archival repository that preserves Latino history in Arizona and the Southwest. Since 1970, we've compiled a distinguished collection of manuscripts, photographs, books, newspapers, and ephemera. Today, we continue to acquire primary and secondary sources that complement the instructional and research needs of the ASU community and the general public. Somos un repositorio de archivos que preserva la historia de los latinos en Arizona y el suroeste. Desde 1970, hemos compilado una distinguida colección de recursos primarios y secundarios que complementan las necesidades de enseñanza y investigación de la comunidad de ASU y el público en general. What do we collect? / ¿Qué coleccionamos? Personal Records: Material that documents an individual’s life and achievements. (e.g. Diaries, Correspondence, Oral Histories) Family Records: Material that documents a family’s history and roots in Arizona and the Southwest. (e.g. Genealogy Records, Family Artifacts, Photographs) Organization Records: Material that documents an organizations history and their work with a community. (e.g. Meeting Minutes, Correspondence, Financial Records) Published Material: Material that focuses on Latino history and culture. (e.g. Rare Books, Newspapers, Recordings) Personales: Material que documenta la vida y logros de un individuo.  (e.g. Diarios, Correspondencia, Historias Orales) Registros Familiares: Material que documenta la historia y las raíces de una familia en Arizona y el suroeste. (e.g. Registros de Genealogía, Artefactos Familiares, Fotografías) Registros de Organización: Material que documenta la historia de las organizaciones y su trabajo con la comunidad. (e.g. Actas de la Reunión, Correspondencia, Registros Financieros) Material Publicado: Material que se concentra en la historia y cultura de Latinos. (e.g. Libros Raros, Prensa, Grabaciones) , Collections of note Franco and French Families Papers Documents the family's political and social presence in Arizona between the 1930s and the 1990s. Finding aid for the Franco and French Families Papers Los Mineros Photographs Documents the lives of Mexican and Mexican-American copper miners in Arizona and New Mexico between 1900s and 1970s. Finding aid for the Los Mineros Photographs Chicanos Por La Causa Records Documents the history of CPLC, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of Latinos through education, economic development, social services and affordable housing since 1969. Finding aid for Chicanos Por La Causa Records , Information Access the collection Materials in this collection can be viewed by appointment in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138). Please make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or call 480-965-4932 for more information. Questions? Ask an Archivist Resources Chicano/a Research Collection Library Guide ASU Digital Repository Arizona Archives Online ASU Distinctive Collections Policies Camera Use Agreement Using our collections in publications , Nancy Godoy Associate Archivist nancy.godoy@asu.edu 480-965-2594

Welcome Black Collections, a new archival repository within the Community-Driven Archives Initiative at ASU Library, focused on creating a robust community collection dedicated to documenting the lived experiences of Black people living and thriving in Arizona. As part of the award-winning CDA Initiative established in 2017 with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Black Collections seeks to establish and implement programs and services that will engage, educate and empower Arizona’s Black community to preserve currently silenced narratives and history. Building this infrastructure and relationships with historically marginalized communities takes time and patience, a deep desire and passion to create change and highly trained students, staff and professionals. , Why create Black Collections? “I want Black Collections to be an important collection that the Black community of Phoenix and Arizona are proud of. Everybody deserves to have their stories documented and the ability to see themselves within the archival record. Black Collections is about working with community to preserve Black history and stories in Arizona.” – Jessica Salow, assistant archivist of Black Collections , Highlighted Collection J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. Documents the work and legacy of artist, educator and mentor of generations of young artists, Dr. Jefferson Eugene Grigsby, Jr. Visit the finding aid for the J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. Papers   , LIFT Initiative elevates Black Collections Black Collections was created as part of ASU’s LIFT (Listen, Invest, Facilitate, Teach) Initiative. In the fall of 2020, President Crow’s office shared a list of 25 actions to support Black students, faculty and staff. On point 23, the action reads, “ASU has committed to providing funding to sustain the Community-Driven Archives initiative in the ASU Library in order to enhance the historical record of and the university’s and library’s engagement with underrepresented communities.” You can help CDA and Black Collections recover ASU’s Black history to reflect the scholarship and academic accomplishments of the Black community. Make a gift today. , Information Access the collection Materials in this collection can be viewed by appointment in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138). Please make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or call 480-965-4932 for more information. Questions? Ask an Archivist Jessica Salow Assistant Archivist of Black Collections jessica.salow@asu.edu , Resources Black Collections Symposium LibGuide Arizona Archives Online ASU Digital Repository ASU Distinctive Collections Policies Camera Use Agreement Using our collections in publications Connect with us Follow Community-Driven Archives on social media!     , News and blog More news Department of English celebrates 125th anniversary with special events, including a history exhibit Read more about the "Department of English celebrates 125th anniversary with special events, including a history exhibit" article Local athletes get crash course on Black history in Arizona Read more about the "Local athletes get crash course on Black history in Arizona" article ASU Library collection captures robust history of Arizona Read more about the "ASU Library collection captures robust history of Arizona" article University Archives chronicles more than 140 years of Sun Devil history Read more about the "University Archives chronicles more than 140 years of Sun Devil history" article , ASU Events

An Associated Press analysis finds that the number of Black students enrolling at many elite colleges has dropped in the two years since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in admissions.

Podcast Episode · The Press Room · 09/26/2025 · 27m

Community is vital in Jewish ritual and tradition, and the High Holidays are no exception, a Judaic studies scholar writes.

As the justices make their final preparations this week for the start of the 2025-26 term, they’ll also address the latest request for a stay of execution.   Victor Tony […]

Decision reversed lower court ruling that weakened zoning restrictions put in place decades ago to preserve lands

Join us in honoring Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15). Below is a roundup of blog posts, exhibits, and other resources from our member libraries. Arizona State University Chicano/a Research...

The deadly shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has revived debate and conversation over free speech on college campuses.

Beverly Daniel Tatum on antisemitism, ‘the hardest in the US’, and DEI as the White House targets higher education

In September 2025, John Roberts Jr. will mark the 20th anniversary of his confirmation as Chief Justice of the United States. Roberts and his conservative colleagues on the court thus far have etched legacies in a number of areas of the law, but only one has major implications for democracy’s future.

Writing that it “wants out of this abhorrent system of racial discrimination,” Louisiana on Wednesday told the Supreme Court in the case of Louisiana v. Callais to leave in place […]

Historical Background The history of capital punishment in the United States reflects a cycle of reform, reinstatement, and continued controversy. In 1972, the Supreme Court’s decision in Furman ...

The move comes after Ivy League universities Columbia and Brown struck settlements that require them to release information about applicants’ race.

"My Father's House is both a biography of iconic African-American Congressman John Conyers Jr. and his more than half-century of groundbreaking legislation, and a son's memoir of leveraging his own voice in a world that his father helped create"-- Provided by publisher.;My Father's House by John Conyers III is a reflective tribute to his father, Congressman John James Conyers, Jr., blending personal memoir with political history. It offers an intimate portrait of Conyers as both a civil rights icon and a complex family man, highlighting his legislative legacy and his mentorship of key national figures. Through his son's eyes, the book humanizes the giants of the civil rights era and underscores their enduring influence on modern American politics.

Carla Hayden, the first African American to hold the post, was fired over diversity initiatives.

May is Jewish American Heritage Month. Join ARL in honoring this community by viewing our round-up of events, blog posts, and resources from our member libraries. Events | Blog...

ARL shines a spotlight on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage during the month of May. View our round-up of events, blogs, and other resources. Events | Blog...

"Sarah Lewis deciphers the hugely popular nineteenth-century images that failed to dislodge Americans' faith in the mythical white homeland of the Caucasus. Actual Caucasians little resemble race science's ideals of whiteness, so Americans learned to manipulate their visual regime-and visual media-to suppress evidence of race's incoherence."--;"In a masterpiece of historical detective work, Sarah Lewis exposes one of the most damaging lies in American history. There was a time when Americans were confronted with the fictions shoring up the nation's racial regime and learned to disregard them. The true significance of this hidden history has gone unseen--until now. The surprising catalyst occurred in the nineteenth century when the Caucasian War--the fight for independence in the Caucasus that coincided with the end of the US Civil War--revealed the instability of the entire regime of racial domination. Images of the Caucasus region and peoples captivated the American public but also showed that the place from which we derive 'Caucasian' for whiteness was not white at all. Cultural and political figures ranging from P. T. Barnum to Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois to Woodrow Wilson recognized these fictions and more, exploiting, unmasking, critiquing, or burying them. To acknowledge the falsehood at the core of racial order proved unthinkable, especially as Jim Crow and segregation took hold. Sight became a form of racial sculpture, vision a knife excising what no longer served the stability of racial hierarchy. That stability was shaped, crucially, by what was left out, what we have been conditioned not to see. Groundbreaking and profoundly resonant, The Unseen Truth shows how visual tactics have long secured our regime of racial hierarchy in spite of its false foundations--and offers a way to begin to dismantle it." --

"Tamara Lanier grew up listening to her mother's stories about her ancestors. As Black Americans descended from enslaved people brought to America, they knew all too well how fragile the tapestry of a lineage could be. As her mother's health declined, she pushed her daughter to dig into those stories. "Tell them about Papa Renty," she would say. It was her mother's last wish. Thus begins one woman's remarkable commitment to document that story. Her discovery of an eighteenth-century daguerreotype, one of the first-ever photos of enslaved people from Africa, reveals a dark-skinned man with short-cropped silver hair and chiseled cheekbones. The information read "Renty, Congo." All at once, Lanier knew she was staring at the ancestor her mother told her so much about-Papa Renty. In a compelling story covering more than a decade of her own research, Lanier takes us on her quest to prove her genealogical bloodline to Papa Renty's that pits her in a legal battle against one of the most powerful institutions in the country, Harvard University. The question is, who has claim to the stories, artifacts, and remnants of America's stained history-the institutions who acquired and housed them for generations, or the descendants who have survived? From These Roots is not only a historical record of one woman's lineage but a call to justice that fights for all those demanding to reclaim, honor, and lay to rest the remains of mishandled lives and memories"--

"A history of post-Brown school desegregation in Detroit, with a focus on Milliken v. Bradley"--

"Purnell details how multi-racial social movements rooted in rebellion, risk-taking, and revolutionary love pushed her and a generation of activists toward abolition. The book travels across geography and time, and offers lessons that activists have learned from Ferguson to South Africa, from Reconstruction to contemporary protests against police shootings. Here, Purnell argues that police can not be reformed and invites readers to envision new systems that work to address the root causes of violence. Becoming Abolitionists shows that abolition is not solely about getting rid of police, but a commitment to create and support different answers to the problem of harm in society, and, most excitingly, an opportunity to reduce and eliminate harm in the first place"--Provided by publisher.

Three former Memphis officers have been acquitted of all state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop.

A new policy in Hennepin County, Minnesota, that allows prosecutors to consider racial identity in plea deals has led to a probe by the U.S. Department of Justice.

BOSTON, MA – April 30, 2025 - To honor Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, the Boston Public Library (BPL) is…

The attrition rate for associates in law firms was 20% in 2024, up from 18% in 2023 but still lower than the historic high of 26% in 2021, according to the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education.

Actions attack funding and accreditation but also seek to increase affordability and retention at Black colleges