Law Commons^™

Supreme Court Update: 2012-2013 Term (Civil Cases In Constitutional Law), Wilson Huhn

Akron Law Faculty Publications

During 2012-2013 the Supreme Court handed down several significant constitutional law, including United States v. Windsor (striking down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act) and Shelby County v. Holder (striking down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act). These and other decisions are summarized in this presentation.

Slaves To Contradictions: 13 Myths That Sustained Slavery, Wilson Huhn

Akron Law Faculty Publications

People have a fundamental need to think of themselves as “good people.” To achieve this we tell each other stories – we create myths – about ourselves and our society. These myths may be true or they may be false. The more discordant a myth is with reality, the more difficult it is to convince people to embrace it. In such cases to sustain the illusion of truth it may be necessary to develop an entire mythology – an integrated web of mutually supporting stories. This paper explores the system of myths that sustained the institution of slavery in the …

Riding Into The Sunset In A "Post-Racial" World: Lessons In Equal Educational Opportuity And College Admissions Schemes In France And The United States, Kristen Barnes

Akron Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare two strategies designed to promote ethno-racial inclusion that were initiated in France and the United States in the context of higher education. In particular, I examine the Priority Education Agreements Program or CEP, an innovative affirmative action program which was implemented in 2001 by the Sciences Po, one of France’s elite universities, in relation to the Texas Ten Percent Plan that was established in 1997 in the United States by the State of Texas.

Sections I and II of this paper will provide the historical and social contexts in which …

Biological Metaphors For Whiteness: Beyond Merit And Malice, Brant T. Lee

Akron Law Faculty Publications

The problem of persistent racial inequality is grounded in a failure of imagination. The general mainstream conception is that unfair racial inequality occurs only when there is intentional racism. Absent conscious racial malice, no racism is seen to exist. The only generally available alternative explanation for racial inequality is the meritocratic system. Viewing the distribution of resources as a product of a generally fair meritocratic system provides a defense against any charge of racism, and justifies the status quo.

But in economics, business, computer science, and even biology, observers of complexity are coming to understand how dominant systems can prevail …