Bruce J. Dierenfield – författare

Bruce J. Dierenfield and David A. Gerber use the Zobrests'' story to examine the complex history and jurisprudence of disability accommodation and educational mainstreaming. They look at the family''s effort to acquire educational resources for their son starting in early childhood and the choices the Zobrests made to prepare him for life in the hearing world rather than the deaf community. Dierenfield and Gerber also analyze the thorny church-state issues and legal controversies that informed the case, its journey to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the impact of the high court''s ruling on the course of disability accommodation and religious liberty.

Winner: Langum Prize

Winner: Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award

It has become known to many as the moment when the U.S. Supreme Court kicked God out of the public schools, supposedly paving the way for a decline in educational quality and a dramatic rise in delinquency and immorality. The 6-to-1 decision in Engel v. Vitale (1962) not only sparked outrage among a great many religious Americans, it also rallied those who cried out against what they perceived as a dangerously activist Court.

Bruce Dierenfield has written a concise and readable guide to the first—and still most important—case that addressed the constitutionality of prayer in public schools. The 22-word recitation in a Long Island school that was challenged in Engel v. Vitale was hardly denominational—not even overtly Christian—but a handful of parents saw it as a violation of the First Amendment’s proscription again the establishment of religion. The case forced the Supreme Court to take a stand on Jefferson''s “wall of separation” between church and state. When it did so, the Court declared that by endorsing the prayer recitation—no matter how brief, non-denominational, or voluntary—the Long Island school board had unconstitutionally approved the establishment of religion in school.

Writing with impeccable fairness and sensitivity, Dierenfield sets his account of the Engel decision in the larger historical and political context, citing battles over a wide range of religious activities in public schools throughout American history. He takes readers behind the scenes at school board meetings and Court deliberations to show real people wrestling with deeply personal issues. Through interviews with many of the participants, he also reveals the large price paid by the plaintiffs and their children, who were frequently harassed both during and after the trial.

For a long time, opponents of the decision have loudly claimed that it was based on a distorted reading of the First Amendment and deprived Americans of their right to practice religion. Dierenfield shows that the polarizing effect of Engel—a decision every bit as controversial as Roe v. Wade—has reverberated through the subsequent decades and gained intensity with the rise of the religious right. His book helps readers understand why, even in the face of this landmark decision, Americans remain divided on how divided church and state should be.

Now in its second edition, The Civil Rights Movement: The Black Freedom Struggle in America recounts the extraordinary story of how tens of thousands of African Americans overcame segregation, exercised their right to vote, and improved their economic standing, and how millions more black people, along with those of different races, continue to fight for racial justice in the wake of continuing police killings of unarmed black men and women.

In a concise, chronological fashion, Bruce Dierenfield shows how concerted pressure in a variety of forms has helped realize a more just society for many blacks, though racism is far from being extinguished. The new edition has been fully revised to include an entire chapter on the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. In addition, the black experience in the slave and Jim Crow periods has been expanded, and greater emphasis has been placed throughout on black agency. The book also features revised maps, new primary documents, and an updated further reading section that reflects recent scholarship.

This book will provide students of American history with a compelling and comprehensive introduction to the Civil Rights Movement.

Now in its second edition, The Civil Rights Movement: The Black Freedom Struggle in America recounts the extraordinary story of how tens of thousands of African Americans overcame segregation, exercised their right to vote, and improved their economic standing, and how millions more black people, along with those of different races, continue to fight for racial justice in the wake of continuing police killings of unarmed black men and women.

In a concise, chronological fashion, Bruce Dierenfield shows how concerted pressure in a variety of forms has helped realize a more just society for many blacks, though racism is far from being extinguished. The new edition has been fully revised to include an entire chapter on the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. In addition, the black experience in the slave and Jim Crow periods has been expanded, and greater emphasis has been placed throughout on black agency. The book also features revised maps, new primary documents, and an updated further reading section that reflects recent scholarship.

This book will provide students of American history with a compelling and comprehensive introduction to the Civil Rights Movement.

The story of black emancipation is one of the most dramatic themes of American history, covering racism, murder, poverty and extreme heroism. Figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King are the demigods of the freedom movements, both film and household figures.

This major text explores the African-American experience of the twentieth century with particular reference to six outstanding race leaders. Their philosophies and strategies for racial advancement are compared and set against the historical framework and constraints within which they functioned.

The book also examines the ''grass roots'' of black protest movements in America, paying particular attention to the major civil rights organizations as well as black separatist groups such as the Nation of Islam.

The story of black emancipation is one of the most dramatic themes of American history, covering racism, murder, poverty and extreme heroism. Figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King are the demigods of the freedom movements, both film and household figures.

This major text explores the African-American experience of the twentieth century with particular reference to six outstanding race leaders. Their philosophies and strategies for racial advancement are compared and set against the historical framework and constraints within which they functioned.

The book also examines the ''grass roots'' of black protest movements in America, paying particular attention to the major civil rights organizations as well as black separatist groups such as the Nation of Islam.