Law Commons^™

Why America Still Needs Affirmative Action, Jonathan K. Stubbs

Law Faculty Publications

Affirmative action has gotten a bad rap.Many people think of affirmative action as race-based policies that favor unqualified persons because of the color of their skin. Resentments and misunderstandings flow from such perceptions in part because race remains America’s most inflammatory unfinished business.

To ignite a spirited, thoughtful discussion as well as practical action regarding affirmative action, this article briefly discusses what constitutes affirmative action; evaluates why affirmative action programs that consider race, gender, and class remain necessary; and offers some thoughts regarding when affirmative action should end.

The Uncertain Future Of School Desegregation And The Importance Of Goodwill, Good Sense, And A Misguided Decision, Derek W. Black

Faculty Publications

The article was part of a symposium on the jurisprudence of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. First, the article analyzed whether the Court’s decision in Parents Involved v. Seattle Schools was consistent with Justice O’Connor’s majority opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger. The article concludes that Parents Involved narrowly construed the holding in Grutter and limited its effect. Second, the article assessed the practical import of the decision in Parents Involved. It found that the opinion made voluntary desegregation more difficult than it otherwise would be and, thus, would discourage many school districts from taking progressive action. Unfortunately, the article …

Judicial Decision-Making, Social Science Evidence, And Equal Educational Opportunity: Uneasy Relations And Uncertain Futures, Michael Heise

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cracking The Egg: Which Came First -- Stigma Or Affirmative Action?, Emily Houh, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Mary Campbell

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This Article examines the strength of arguments concerning the causal connection between racial stigma and affirmative action. In so doing, this Article reports and analyzes the results of a survey on internal stigma (feelings of dependency, inadequacy, or guilt) and external stigma (the burden of others' resentment or doubt about one's qualifications) for the Class of 2009 at seven public law schools, four of which employed race-based policies when the Class of 2009 was admitted and three of which did not use such policies at that time. Specifically, this Article examines and presents survey findings of 1) minimal, if any, …

Plessy's Ghost: Grutter, Seattle And The Quiet Reversal Of Brown, D. Marvin Jones

Articles

No abstract provided.

Don't Count Them Out Just Yet: Toward The Plausible Use Of Race-Preference Student Assignment Plans, Leslie Yalof Garfield

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the Supreme Court's recent decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 11 could serve to broaden the permissible use of race beyond the boundaries presently permitted by the Court. In this highly fractionalized decision, five justices ultimately agreed that the race-based student assignment plans before their review could not withstand judicial scrutiny. One of these justices, Justice Kennedy, agreed with the plurality's conclusion, but rejected the plurality's assessment that it is never permissible to use race-preference student assignment plans absent evidence of de jure segregation. His concurrence, when read together with …

Demise Of The Talented Tenth: Affirmative Action And The Increasing Underrepresentation Of Ascendant Blacks At Selective Educational Institutions, Kevin D. Brown, Jeannine Bell

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Over the past 30 years America has experienced both a substantial increase in the percentage of blacks multiracial blacks and an unprecedented influx of voluntary immigration of blacks primarily from Africa and the Caribbean. The percentage of foreign-born black immigrants reached 8% of the black population in 2005, and no doubt is higher today. There is evidence that suggests not only that multiracial blacks and foreign-born black immigrants and their sons and daughters constitute a disproportionate percentage of black students in selective higher education programs, but their percentages are larger than most people realize. This article addresses the resulting change …

Symposium: Race Across Boundaries: Introduction, Kevin D. Brown

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.