Transcript Civil Rights

Civil Rights
10/8/07
Proponents of Affirmative Action
• Three goals
– Need for procedural fairness
– Need to remedy past discrimination
– Need to promote diversity
Procedural Fairness
• Affirmative action is a protection for
procedural fairness.
– Kennedy 1961: Absent AA, there will be
discrimination.
– Discrimination: only in selection process.
Past Discrimination
• Affirmative action is a remedy for the
history of discrimination.
– Johnson 1965: “Scars of centuries” mean no
fair competition.
– Discrimination: evident in everything because
of accumulated advantage and accumulated
disadvantage.
Diversity
• Affirmative action promotes diversity.
– Grutter v. Bollinger (2003): "a compelling
interest in obtaining the educational benefits
that flow from a diverse student body."
– Discrimination?
Opponents of AA
• Reverse Discrimination
– Bakke (1978): Upheld AA in principle but stated that
rigid quota systems constitute reverse discrimination.
– Gratz v. Bollinger (2003): applicants must receive
“individualized consideration”
– Central claims: reverse discrimination, special rights,
unwarranted preferences
– Discrimination: is individual and contained in the
process, not systemic and contextualized in history.