Below the Radar
How Silence Can Save Civil Rights
Alison L. Gash
Reviews and Awards
"Based on a rich new history of debates surrounding civil rights struggles, Below the Radar revises the conventional wisdom that rights crusaders gained ground only by shifting from the court of law to the court of public opinion. Gash shows that low-profile legal advocacy proved an essential strategy for marginalized groups that might otherwise have faced crippling backlash, and inspires us to reconsider not just the relationship between the courts and social change but also the role of surreptitiousness in securing the promise of an open democracy." -- Jacob S. Hacker, Yale University
"A bold and innovative study of two crucial civil rights struggles, same-sex parenting and group home advocacy-wherein advocates largely intentionally avoided the sort of hostile reaction that often accompanies court decisions in civil rights cases-Below the Radar persuasively demonstrates that in some settings, low-visibility strategies may well be the most effective way to promote social justice."-Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, UCLA School of Law
"For decades, scholars of law and politics have studied how advocates use public interest litigation to bring visibility and public support to struggles for justice. Gash's outstanding book reveals the silent mirror image of this phenomenon, exploring how quiet but successful campaigns for legal reform can build the foundation for new rights structures-or avert a destructive backlash against the disempowered group these advocates represent." -- Julie Novkov, University at Albany, SUNY
"While same-sex marriage litigation was getting all the headlines, Alison Gash shows that a quieter legal campaign for the rights of gays and lesbians to adopt children was advancing almost unnoticed. With this well-written, incisive book, Gash has added a new dimension to the study of courts and social policy." -- Tom Burke, Wellesley College
"In this engagingly written book, Alison Gash lays out a thoughtful and provocative analysis of the politics of backlash. Her unwinding of this phenomenon is an invaluable contribution that should significantly influence how we think about using litigation to achieve social change." -- Stephen Engel, Bates College
"A groundbreaking study that compares the efficacy of high and low visibility legal strategies in civil rights struggles. Insightful, elegantly written, and powerfully argued, Below the Radar is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the politics of rights, litigation , and social movements in the United States and beyond." -- Jeb Barnes, University of Southern California
"Below the Radar tells two important, interesting, and little-known stories, and it uses those stories to make an important theoretical contribution to a major scholarly debateEL The first deals with parenting-equality advocacy on behalf of gays and lesbians, the second with group homes for people with disabilities or recovering from addictions. Each is interesting on its own, and each is well told." -- Michigan Law Review