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A key challenge for students of the Civil Rights era is the narrative of the Civil Rights Movement itself. It is often told as a story of triumphant progress: brave activists confront injustice, the nation’s conscience is awakened, and landmark legislation redeems the American promise. This forward-moving tale, however, exists in constant tension with a powerful, persistent, and deeply influential counter-narrative—the story of backlash. For every advance in the long struggle for Black freedom, there has been an equally determined and often more powerful reaction, a political and cultural force dedicated to rolling back gains, reasserting racial hierarchy, and reinterpreting…