Strategic equality and the failure of affirmative action law

The changing standards used by the federal courts to adjudicate affirmative action in employment and post-secondary education, driven more by changes in personnel than by any real cultural or societal shifts, now pose a threat to US democracy. The case of Fisher v. University of Texas, recently gran...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of discrimination and the law 2012-03, Vol.12 (1), p.27-51
Main Author: Coleman, Major G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action programs
American Indians
Black White Relations
Blacks
Courts
Cultural Pluralism
Democracy
Economic Policy
Education
Employment
Equality
Federal court decisions
Hispanic Americans
Law
Majorities
Race
Secondary education
Social privilege
Statistics
Supreme Court decisions
Supreme Courts
Surveys
Threat
United States
United States of America
United States Supreme Court
Universities
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Summary:The changing standards used by the federal courts to adjudicate affirmative action in employment and post-secondary education, driven more by changes in personnel than by any real cultural or societal shifts, now pose a threat to US democracy. The case of Fisher v. University of Texas, recently granted review, opens anew the 2003 Supreme Court ruling that universities may consider race for the purpose of achieving diversity, if that diversity satisfies the strict scrutiny standard requiring a compelling governmental interest in programs narrowly tailored to meet whatever government interest may be involved. The real question should, of course, center on whether the diversity standard adequately meets the political and economic demands the USA seems certain to face in the coming century, as people of color move from minority to majority status. Drawing upon data from the General Social Survey, the Current Population Survey, and the National Center for Education Statistics, I contend here that diversity alone is inadequate because it is non-remedial and leaves in place both white privilege and Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American disadvantage.
ISSN:1358-2291
2047-9468
DOI:10.1177/1358229112453890