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Judicial Erasure Of Mixed-Race Discrimination, Nancy Leong

American University Law Review

Jurisprudential remedies for racial discrimination presume the existence of clear categories. Indeed, Carolene Products’ classic allusion to “discrete and insular minorities” evokes racial groups that are readily identified and defined. Yet this reliance on categories renders antidiscrimination jurisprudence inhospitable to claims brought by individuals identified as multiracial and discriminated against on that basis. By addressing racial discrimination exclusively through categories, courts have lost sight of the fact that the purpose of antidiscrimination law is not to protect individuals from discrimination based on membership in recognized categories, but rather to protect individuals from the harms inflicted by racism.

This Article explores …