Randall Kennedy: “For Discrimination; Race, Affirmative Action, and the Law”

Randall Kennedy, Harvard Law School professor and best-selling author, gives us a concise, gimlet-eyed, and deeply personal overview of the policy, exploring the myriad complexities of an issue that continues to bedevil American race relations. Kennedy accounts for the slipperiness of the term “affirmative action” as it has been appropriated by ideologues of every stripe; delves into the complex and surprising legal history of the policy; coolly analyzes key arguments pro and con advanced by the left and right, including the so-called color-blind, race-neutral challenge; critiques the impact of Supreme Court decisions on higher education; and ponders the future of affirmative action.