Showdown

Thurgood Marshall, who overturned the separate-but-equal doctrine, established integrated schools, and not only battled for but also made human rights and dignity unalienable in the courts and on the streets, is the focus of Wil Haygood's The Butler. Haygood creates a provocative and moving look at Marshall's life as well as the politicians, lawyers, activists, and others who shaped—or desperately tried to stop—the civil rights movement of the twentieth century. Haygood uses the framework of the dramatic, contentious five-day Senate hearing to confirm Marshall as the first African-American Supreme Court justice to explore President Lyndon B. Johnson's role in Marshall's appointment; Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. 's scandals, which almost cost Marshall his Supreme Court seat; and more.