Letter from the Editor

The Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest is proud to present its annual fall issue, which this year focuses on civil rights. In 1861, the city of Richmond became the locus of the Southern rebellion against the United States. This movement's motivation was concern over changing attitudes toward slavery and race relations in the rest of the Union. It sought to repress any forward movement in the struggle to expand legal rights to those who had not previously known them.

One hundred and fifty years later, that struggle has produced tremendous change, yet still persists in the face of more complex and deeply seated discrimination. On this anniversary, it seems fitting to commemorate the starting point of the conflict, and to survey some of the fronts on which the fight for greater rights continues.