Richard F. Hamm is Distinguished SUNY Teaching Professor at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He is the author of Murder, Honor, and Law: Four Virginia Homicides from Reconstruction to the Great Depression and coeditor, with Michael Lewis, of Prohibition's Greatest Myths: The Distilled Truth About America’s Anti-Alcohol Crusade.

"This book carefully and thoroughly examines one of the most important figures in American legal and civil liberties circles in the first half of the twentieth century." — Bruce J. Dierenfield, author of Separating Church and State: How the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union Led the Nation in Religious Liberty"Hamm's book is a vital intervention in correcting this oversight and is a valuable contribution to the overall history of the ACLU and civil rights. Hamm exposes Hays's rich, multilayered activism, and by focusing on Hays, he reveals several understudied grassroots movements, court cases, and key individuals who tackled discriminatory practices." — Kendra Gage, History, University of California, Riverside

• PrefaceIntroduction1. Arthur Garfield Hays: Roots and Branches2. "The stupidity of the city police": The Harlem Riot Commission3. "What is a Negro?": Cockburn v. Ridgway4. "The effective moment to shoot the gun": The Campaign Against the Color Line in the American Bar Association5. "The educational effect would be worth the investment": Lynn v. Downer6. Prejudice: The Limits of Hays's Racial LiberalismConclusionNotesSelect BibliographyIndex

Richard F. Hamm is Distinguished SUNY Teaching Professor at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He is the author of Murder, Honor, and Law: Four Virginia Homicides from Reconstruction to the Great Depression and coeditor, with Michael Lewis, of Prohibition's Greatest Myths: The Distilled Truth About America’s Anti-Alcohol Crusade.

"This book carefully and thoroughly examines one of the most important figures in American legal and civil liberties circles in the first half of the twentieth century." — Bruce J. Dierenfield, author of Separating Church and State: How the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union Led the Nation in Religious Liberty"Hamm's book is a vital intervention in correcting this oversight and is a valuable contribution to the overall history of the ACLU and civil rights. Hamm exposes Hays's rich, multilayered activism, and by focusing on Hays, he reveals several understudied grassroots movements, court cases, and key individuals who tackled discriminatory practices." — Kendra Gage, History, University of California, Riverside

• PrefaceIntroduction1. Arthur Garfield Hays: Roots and Branches2. "The stupidity of the city police": The Harlem Riot Commission3. "What is a Negro?": Cockburn v. Ridgway4. "The effective moment to shoot the gun": The Campaign Against the Color Line in the American Bar Association5. "The educational effect would be worth the investment": Lynn v. Downer6. Prejudice: The Limits of Hays's Racial LiberalismConclusionNotesSelect BibliographyIndex