7

The Law as an Engine of African-American Suppression and Progress

"What is striking is the role legal principles have played throughout America's history in determining the condition of Negroes. They were enslaved by law, emancipated by law, disenfranchised and segregated by law; and, finally, they have begun to win equality by law. Along the way, new constitutional principles have emerged to meet the challenges of a changing society. The progress has been dramatic, and it will continue."

- Thurgood Marshall, speaking at the annual seminar of the San Francisco Patent and Trademark Law Association in Maui, Hawaii, May, 6, 1987