Gateway to Justice: The Juvenile Court and Progressive Child Welfare in a Southern City

Abstract

Most historical monographs about juvenile delinquency have examined nonsouthern urban settings. However, as Jennifer Trost notes, the South, and Memphis in particular, were unique in their patterns of racial migration and segregation, the persistence of rural and local traditions, and their resistance to emerging state powers, such as juvenile courts. For this reason, Gateway to Justice is an important addition to legal history scholarship. The first three chapters provide an overview of Memphis's progressive reform, particularly the juvenile court and affiliate social organizations. Chapter 1 provides a history of reforms instituted by Mayor Edward Crump, as well as a discussion of the emerging black community. Not surprisingly, there were traditionalists who resisted Crump's reforms, as well as those who insisted on segregated facilities. Chapter 2 focuses on the social reformers involved in the court. Here, women's groups played a large role, with black and white women creating their own networks to provide segregated services. Chapter 3 looks at four groups involved in child welfare and the juvenile court: orphanages and industrial schools; associated charities that provided relief; referral agencies; and coordinating organizations, such as the Community Fund. Again, Trost stresses how segregation permeated every aspect of these organizations' services.