A Legacy of Discrimination: The Essential Constitutionality of Affirmative Action

In A Legacy of Discrimination, Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone provide a defense of affirmative action policies, arguing that they are necessary to address centuries of racism and discrimination in the United States. They trace the history of affirmative action and its legal challenges, and demonstrate why it remains a critical policy to secure justice for Black Americans.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 18 March 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Since 1961, the issue of affirmative action has been a contentious legal and political topic. Affirmative action was created to address the pervasive discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities in our country, and it has resulted in a significant increase in minority representation in a wide range of industries, government positions, and academic institutions over the past sixty years. However, affirmative action policies in the United States continue to face criticism.

In A Legacy of Discrimination, Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone, two of America's foremost constitutional scholars, trace the history and legal challenges of affirmative action policies. They argue that to fully understand the original intent and impact of affirmative action, we must re-acquaint ourselves with the era in which it arose, beginning with the most important Supreme Court decision of the 20th century, 1954's Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

Assessing this history, Bollinger and Stone introduce subsequent and evolving affirmative-action case law that had the intent and effect of constraining social, educational, and economic progress for Black people and other minority groups. They demonstrate how and why affirmative action policies stand on firm legal ground and must remain protected. Furthermore, they explain why Americans must view affirmative action as a long-term moral commitment to secure justice, especially for Black Americans, after three and a half centuries of grave injustice that violates the most fundamental principles of our nation.

In conclusion, affirmative action policies are a critical tool for addressing the legacy of discrimination and segregation in the United States. They have helped to level the playing field and provide opportunities for marginalized communities that would otherwise be limited. While these policies continue to face criticism, it is essential to understand their historical context and the legal challenges they have faced. By examining the history of affirmative action, we can better appreciate the importance of these policies and their role in creating a more just and equitable society.

Weight: 324g
Dimension: 148 x 221 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197685747