ARE the courts our salvation, a dangerous distraction, or something in between? Fifty years ago, Brown v. Board of Education attacked America's system of legalized racial segregation. The Supreme Court was encouraged to act because elected officials were in thrall to Jim Crow and afraid to act. Congress was dominated by open racists. President Truman used an executive order to desegregate the armed services and promoted civil rights, only to lose part of his Southern base to Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrats. It seemed unlikely that any future president would jeopardize his electoral position by doing something similar.

Lynchings of young black men; overt discrimination in jobs and housing; white-only restaurants, hotels and restrooms; and a crude popular racism were dominant themes that few politicians were willing to challenge seriously.