The author synthesizes and analyzes research on history, law, sociology, criminology, current events, race relations, and media studies. Attention is given to changes in social structural, economic, racial, and demographic factors; coverage by the mass media; public attitudes; and political and legal actions as independent variables. The first part of the article addresses two issues: why the Warren U.S. Supreme Court's "due process revolution" in juvenile justice happened as it did and when it did, as well as the social, legal, and political consequences. The second part of the article addresses why the conservative political backlash that successfully advocated more retributive policies to crack down on youth crime occurred as it did and when it did. In both sections of the article, the author argues that race and the changing politics of race and crime significantly explained the legal shifts. In the case of the Warren Court, its decisions on school desegregation, criminal procedures, and juvenile justice all reflected a fundamental shift in constitutional jurisprudence to protect individual rights and the rights of racial minorities. On the other hand, from the 1970's to the 1990's, conservative Republican politicians pursued a "southern strategy" that used crime as a code word for race for electoral advantage and advocated harsher policies that have affected juvenile justice throughout the Nation. Media coverage increasingly put a Black face on youth crime that was exploited for political advantage. 90 references