“In very significant respects, we are deeper into the woods than we've ever been. The U.S. Supreme Court, in my judgment, is more conservative now than it has been since the Roger Taney court—the Dred Scott case in 1857. I think a majority of the justices—one whose skin color is like mine leading the fray—look for ways to overturn precedents set by the Warren court. Section 1983 and the 14th Amendment have been, in my view, turned on their heads so that they are now used to prevent blacks and minorities from enjoying the fruits of American citizenship.

”There are always exceptions, but if these justices were on the court in 1968 I would have found something else to do.“

-- Retired judge U.W. Clemon, who, as an attorney, filed key civil rights lawsuits early in his career, including one against Bear Bryant in 1969 to desegregate the University of Alabama football team, in the oral history, ”We've Come a Rather Remarkable Way," in the 2015 issue of Alabama Super Lawyers magazine. On newsstands now.