The William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV and the UNLV Department of History presents the 20th Anniversary of the Philip Pro Lecture in Legal History on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. in the Thomas and Mack Moot Courtroom.
Dylan C. Penningroth, Professor of Law and Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor of History and the Associate Dean, Program in Jurisprudence and Social Policy / Legal Studies at UC Berkely Law will present on Hidden Histories of Black Civil Rights.
Through an empirically-rich historical investigation into the changing meaning of civil rights, Before the Movement seeks to change the way we think about Black history itself. Weaving together a variety of sources—from state and federal appellate courts to long-forgotten documents found in county courthouse basements, from family interviews to church records—the book tries to reveal how African Americans thought about, talked about, and used the law long before the marches of the 1960s. In a world that denied their constitutional rights, Black people built lives for themselves through common law “rights of everyday use.” Before the Movement recovers a rich vision of Black life―a vision allied with, yet distinct from, the freedom struggles.
The lecture is free, but all attendees must register. To register for the lecture, go to our Eventbrite page.
