Living the Bill of Rights

Nat Hentoff is the author of many articles and books about jazz, politics, and education, including Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee (1992). His syndicated column, "Sweet Land of Liberty," appears in the Washington Post and more than two hundred other newspapers, and he is a weekly contributor to the Village Voice. He lives in New York City.

• The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America Introduction: "Tell them stories about how our liberties were won and what keeps them alive." 1. Supreme Court Justice William 0. Douglas: "Bill's life, like his law, was free." 2. Anthony Griffin: "If you take the First Amendment from the Klan, we, as black folks, will be the next to suffer." 3. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, Part I: "The censorial power is in the people over the Government, and not in the Government over the people." 4. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, Part II: "Schools cannot expect their students to learn the lessons of good citizenship when the school authorities themselves disregard the fundamental principles underpinning our constitutional freedoms." 5. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, Part III: "The evolving standards of human decency will eventually lead to the abolition of the death penalty in this country." 6. Dr. Kenneth Clark, Part I: The Last of the Integrationists? 7. Dr. Kenneth Clark, Part II: Simple Justice and How It Got Lost: "I saw this white kid, and he was saying, 'Look, this segregation is increasing bigotry."' 8. Color Coding: She Had to Leave the Room Because the Class Was Reserved for African American Students 9. Individuals of Conscience Against the State.: "Those who won our independence by revolution were not cowards." 10. Banning the Bill of Rights and the Rest of the Constitution from Our Prisons 11. Nowhere in the Constitution Is There a Mention of God: The Continuing Battles for Freedom of Religion and Freedom from Religion 12. Further Bold Adventures of Men and Women of Conscience 13. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy: "The Constitution needs renewal and understanding each generation, or else it's not going to last." The Constitution of the United States of America Acknowledgments Index