Promises to Keep

At a time when race remains a divisive issue, Promises to Keep offers a compelling analysis of how conflict over African Americans' place in American society has shaped the Constitution, law, and Americans' understanding of citizenship and rights. Engaging and accessible, yet based on the latest scholarship, it shows how African Americans have played a critical role in transforming the Constitution from a bulwark of slavery to a document that is truer to the nation's promise of equality. Comprehensive in scope, Promises moves from debates over slavery at the nation's founding to contemporary discussions of affirmative action, voting rights, mass incarceration, and police brutality. In the process, it provides readers with a historical perspective critical to understanding some of today's most compelling issues.