Winner of the 2009 Best Book Award in Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, American Political Science Association "Black and Blue is an exceptional study of the relationships between the civil rights and labor movements during the second half of the twentieth century...His study of the particular details of this struggle, as well as the institutional circumstances that guided the struggle will ... Read morebe discussed for years to come."
Mark Graber, Balkinization "Paul Frymer's Black and Blue is an important book, precisely because it takes what should be so obvious to scholars and makes it appear as such. At least since the mid-1980s, scholars have debated the 'rise and fall' of the labor-civil rights movement and its relationship to the power and authority of the Democratic party. Combining the methodologies of politics, the law, and history, Frymer's interdisciplinary work should help settle this long-running debate and contribute to new (and perhaps even more productive) avenues of inquiry."
Peter F. Lau, Journal of American History "Black and Blue is a powerful demonstration of how a different theoretical paradigm can result in new interpretations of not only historical events, but current understandings of both racism and judicial legitimacy. Although there are many unanswered questions resulting from this intriguing book, it offers some fruitful new directions for the burgeoning scholarship in intersectionality, as well as continuing in the traditions of American Political Development and New Institutionalism."
Michelle D. Deardorff, Law and Politics Book Review "[T]his is an exceptionally interesting book. Frymer makes new arguments, uses fresh evidence, and addresses important questions. He casts new light on the historical relationship between labor and the civil rights movement."
Michael P. Hanagan, American Journal of Sociology "Black and Blue is an important contribution to the interdisciplinary literature on race and the U.S. labor movement. Its evidence is fresh and stimulating, its arguments original and compelling, and its conclusions matter. This is a book not only scholars but also activists should read."
Nancy MacLean, Industrial and Labor Relations Review "Frymer fruitfully subjects courts to the kind of institutional analysis generally reserved for the political branches. His conclusion that the New Deal led to a new role for courts as agents of, rather than checks on, state-building is one ripe for historical elaboration. That his focus on the changing role of the courts may obscure changes occurring elsewhere in government and society should not deter historians from engaging with this excellent book."
Sophia Z. Lee, Journal of Law and History Review "The story Frymer tells in this slender volume is a provocative and essential one... [A] fine and thoughtful book."
James Wolfinger, The Historian "Paul Frymer has written a book that deserves to take its place as one of the canonical texts for students and scholars interested in exploring the troubled intersection of race and class in American political development (APD)... Black and Blue is an ambitious and well-executed project that enhances our understanding of its subject."
Janice Fine, Perspectives on Politics Show Less