Race, Affirmative Action, and the Law

May 27, 2013
As the titles of this and his previous books (among them, The Persistence of the Color Line: Racial Politics and the Obama Presidency) suggest, Harvard law professor Kennedy knows where the nerve endings are in discussing the complexities of race in America. While clearly convinced that “the net benefits generated by affirmative action justify its continued existence,” his probe of those ganglia is dexterous. “The stark patterns of racial disparity... attend every index of well-being and development in American society,” Kennedy writes, “including educational attainment” (his focus in this book is on higher education). After reviewing the history of affirmative action, concluding that “ambivalence triumphant” best describes its current status, Kennedy assesses the arguments, pro (reparations, integration) and con (the associated stigma). Following a consideration of the “apparent attractions of color blindness” and its weaknesses, Kennedy turns to the Supreme Court’s record—one he finds “marked by ambivalence, confusion, evasiveness, obfuscation, and inconsistency” in cases involving the state universities of California, Michigan, and Texas. Kennedy’s admirably balanced argument in favor of affirmative action (though the author has some reservations) is provocative and his style is accessible. When the Supreme Court decision on Fisher v. University of Texas is handed down, Kennedy’s latest will be required reading. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency.

August 1, 2013
A noted legal scholar considers the always-contentious debate over affirmative action. Kennedy (Harvard Law School; The Persistence of the Color Line: Racial Politics and the Obama Presidency, 2011, etc.) continues his strong track record of making thorny conversations about race and the law accessible to general readers, discussing complicated issues and court cases in a lucid, forceful fashion. He begins by observing that, despite being a son of the Jim Crow South, his own productive life was certainly enhanced by affirmative action: "I have often been shown special attentiveness in competitive settings in which my blackness was perceived as a plus." Kennedy writes powerfully about the complex development of affirmative action as a largely unanticipated outgrowth of the struggle between the civil rights movement and Jim Crow. He then examines the major Supreme Court cases dealing with affirmative action in education, noting that while the well-known Bakke decision of 1978 seemingly protected affirmative action, it produced the "regrettable misjudgment [that] remedying social discrimination is an inadequate justification" for such programs, a feint pursued by conservatives ever since. Kennedy produces a narrative of the subtle changes over time in public response to and perceptions of affirmative action in support of his argument that it's more fragile than generally realized, and it's worth continuing: "Ending it prematurely would be a major calamity." While the author is willing to consider the various counterarguments suggesting that affirmative action is fundamentally unfair or has run its course, including a thoughtful chapter on the legal concept of "color blindness," he repeatedly asserts that his "central concern" in considering affirmative action is "the unfinished business of rectification and integration [given] segregation is not far away historically." Lay readers with an interest in affirmative-action controversies should find him both fair and tough-minded. A strong synthesis of legal precedents and historical narratives.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2013
Kennedy, a Harvard law professor and social critic, addresses one of America's most contentious issuesaffirmative actionon two fronts: the color-blind, race-neutral ideal and the need to address the impact of both past and contemporary racial discrimination. Analyzing the Bakke decision, which justified affirmative action in the absence of a court or legislative finding of racial discrimination, Kennedy argues that the underlying justification for affirmative action that is race sensitive will survive Supreme Court scrutiny with likely modification. But he focuses on the diversity function identified in Bakke, arguing that diversity has been overemphasized to the detriment of compensation for past discrimination. Kennedy examines the race-neutral ideal and the presumption that all discrimination is bad. The book's title reflects Kennedy's promotion of positive discrimination as he argues that the Constitution is neither color-blind nor unaware of racial discrimination as reflected in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. This is a probing and well-considered look at the complexities of race relations and the continuing controversial issues of affirmative action in contemporary America.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

April 15, 2013

With the Supreme Court preparing to rule on affirmative action, Kennedy--Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and author of such hard-hitting best sellers as Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word--offers both a history of the policy and an analysis of its advantages and disadvantages.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.