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Affirmative Action: More Efficient Than Color Blindness, Abraham Lee Wickelgren

ExpressO

One of the most compelling reasons against affirmative action is the principle of color blindness, that is, the idea that race is an irrelevant characteristic that should not affect higher education admissions or hiring decisions. Despite its intuitive appeal, this paper shows that adherence to this principle impedes economic efficiency when there has been past discrimination based on color. Past discrimination creates inefficiencies in the economy that persist across generations. Because of this persistence, race is not an irrelevant characteristic for firms and universities looking to hire or admit the best candidates. Affirmative action, not color-blindness, is necessary to reduce …

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Millennium Showdown For Public Interest Law And Non-White Access To Public Higher Education: Wolves Circling At The Henhouse Door, Stephanie Y. Brown

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Institutions of higher education are uniquely positioned to influence the tone and character of justice available in the society. As centers of information and acculturation, colleges, universities, and professional schools determine the next generation of legal innovators and how they will be trained. In an era when aggressive opponents of racial equality indulged by a conservative court impede the gradual progress made possible through affirmative action programs, I believe that legal educators share considerable responsibility for the chronic deficiency of equal access to education plaguing racial minorities in this country. Intoxicated by the rhetoric of public interest and ritualistic tilting …

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