Summary

Memorials and tributes to the civil rights movement highlight the successes of ordinary individuals. This is problematic because it places the powerful perpetrators of injustice at a distance. Popular histories focus on "Southern backwardness" and what Theoharis describes as "redneck racism" rather than the more complex systems of injustice that exist across the country (83, 84). This blinds us to "polite" racism which often masquerades under reframings such as the argument for "neighborhood schools" (84). The emphasis on "Southern backwardness" is an attempt to suggest that racism in the United States is a regional anomaly at odds with American liberalism.

Racism and racial injustice are about more than vigilante violence spurred by personal hatred. Civil rights activists faced economic injustice as they lost their jobs, as well as a blatant disregard for their issues and causes. Language is a powerful tool of polite...