| Colour-Coded: A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900-1950 Contributor(s): Backhouse, Constance (Author) |
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ISBN: 0802082866 ISBN-13: 9780802082862 Publisher: University of Toronto Press OUR PRICE: $54.15 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 1999 Annotation: Not long ago we Canadians considered ourselves to be more or less free of racial prejudice. Although this image has faded in recent years it has not been completely dispelled. Constance Backhouse's new book will finish the job. Looking back to the first half of this century, Colour Coded illustrates the tenacious hold that white supremacy has had on our legal system and underscores the damaging legacy of inequality that continues today. Backhouse presents detailed narratives of six court cases, each one giving evidence of appalling racism created and enforced through law. The cases focus on Aboriginal, Inuit, Chinese-Canadian, and African-Canadian individuals, taking us from the criminal prosecution of traditional Aboriginal dance to the trial of members of the 'Ku Klux Klan of Kanada.' From thousands of possibilities, Backhouse has selected studies that constitute central moments in the legal history of race in Canada. Her selection also considers a wide range of legal forums, including administrative rulings by municipal councils, criminal trials before police magistrates, criminal and civil cases heard by the highest courts in the provinces, and a reference heard before the Supreme Court of Canada. The extensive and detailed documentation presented here leaves no doubt that the Canadian legal system played a dominant role in creating and preserving racial discrimination. That racism is a deeply embedded, archly defining characteristic of Canadian history is the central message of this book. Its subtext is the paradox that Canada has insisted on portraying itself as a raceless society. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Law | Legal History - Law | Civil Rights - History | Canada - General |
| Dewey: 342.710 |
| Series: Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History |
| Physical Information: 1.3" H x 6" W x 9" (1.85 lbs) 432 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Cultural Region - Canadian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Historically Canadians have considered themselves to be more or less free of racial prejudice. Although this conception has been challenged in recent years, it has not been completely dispelled. In Colour-Coded, Constance Backhouse illustrates the tenacious hold that white supremacy had on our legal system in the first half of this century, and underscores the damaging legacy of inequality that continues today. Backhouse presents detailed narratives of six court cases, each giving evidence of blatant racism created and enforced through law. The cases focus on Aboriginal, Inuit, Chinese-Canadian, and African-Canadian individuals, taking us from the criminal prosecution of traditional Aboriginal dance to the trial of members of the 'Ku Klux Klan of Kanada.' From thousands of possibilities, Backhouse has selected studies that constitute central moments in the legal history of race in Canada. Her selection also considers a wide range of legal forums, including administrative rulings by municipal councils, criminal trials before police magistrates, and criminal and civil cases heard by the highest courts in the provinces and by the Supreme Court of Canada. The extensive and detailed documentation presented here leaves no doubt that the Canadian legal system played a dominant role in creating and preserving racial discrimination. A central message of this book is that racism is deeply embedded in Canadian history despite Canada's reputation as a raceless society. Winner of the Joseph Brant Award, presented by the Ontario Historical Society |
Contributor Bio(s): Backhouse, Constance: - Constance Backhouse is Professor of Law at the University of Western Ontario and author of Petticoats and Prejudice: Women and Law in Nineteenth-Century Canada. |