The Winner of the 2023 David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Legal History is Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights, by Dylan C. Penningroth
In this capaciously conceived study, Dylan Penningroth looks beyond the familiar narrative of the post-Civil Rights Movement to explain how Blacks used the law in their daily lives to promote their rights, going back as far as the era of slavery. His meticulous research, which draws upon the archives of his own family, demonstrates how Blacks effectively made use of the the law of contracts, property, tort, domestic relations, and inheritance. By providing a more expansive and nuanced understanding of Black freedom, Before the Movement is a transformative achievement. – D.S.