1. Civil Rights
10/8/07

2. Proponents of Affirmative Action
Three goals
Need for procedural fairness
Need to remedy past discrimination
Need to promote diversity

3. Procedural Fairness
Affirmative action is a protection for procedural fairness.
Kennedy 1961: Absent AA, there will be discrimination.
Discrimination: only in selection process.

4. 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.

5. 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?

6. 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.