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SundayReview

CAPI TALI DEAS

RethinkingAffirmativeAction
ByDAVIDLEONHARDT

OCT.13,2012

Washington
THEfoundingprincipleofaffirmativeactionwasfairness.Afteryearsof
oppression,itseemedfollytojudgeblacksbythesamemeasuresaswhites.
Youdonottakeapersonwho,foryears,hasbeenhobbledbychainsand
liberatehim,bringhimuptothestartinglineofarace,PresidentLyndonB.
Johnsonsaidina1965speechthatlaidthegroundworkforaffirmativeaction,
andthensay,Youarefreetocompetewithalltheothers,andstilljustly
believethatyouhavebeencompletelyfair.
Giventhishistory,itwasstrikingtowatchthe80minutesofSupreme
CourtoralargumentsaboutaffirmativeactiononWednesday.Withthe
courtroomoverflowing,filledwithpeoplewhohavespenttheircareersfighting
fororagainstaffirmativeaction,onlyonesidetalkedaboutfairness.Anditwas
notthesidedefendingaffirmativeaction.
ThelawyerforAbigailFisher,ayoungwhitewomanrejectedbythe
UniversityofTexas,arguedthatshehadbeendeniedequaltreatment.The

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conservativejustices,sympathetictoMs.Fisherscase,expressedparticular
concernthataffluentblackstudentswerereceivingpreferentialtreatment.
Nobodyontheothersidenottheuniversityslawyer,nottheObama
administrations,nottheliberaljusticesrespondedbytalkingaboutthe
obstaclesthatblackandLatinostudentsmustovercome.Thedefendersof
affirmativeactionspokeinsteadaboutthevalueofdiversity.Withoutdiverse
collegeclasses,theyargued,studentswilllearnlessandsocietywilllackfor
futureleaders.
Thedecisiontoemphasizediversityoverfairnessisonethataffirmative
actionproponentsmadelongbeforeWednesday,anditisabigreasonthey
findthemselvesinsuchavulnerablepositiontoday.
Americansvaluediversity.Buttheyvaluefairnessmore.Mostpeople
opposeacollegesoremployersrejectinganapplicantwhoappearsqualified
forthesakeofcreatingagroupthatdemographicallyresemblesthecountry.
Withaffirmativeactionboileddowntoadiversityprogram,itfindsitself
inretreat.Fiveofthesixstatesthathaveheldreferendumsonracial
preferenceshavebannedthem,includingCaliforniaandFlorida.TheSupreme
Courtlimitedthelegalformsofpreferencesin2003andsuggestedthatthey
hadonly25yearsleft.Basedonlastweeksoralarguments,andthefactthat
JusticeAnthonyKennedyhasnevervotedtoupholdpreferences,thecourt
mayrestrictthemfurtherorforbidthem.
Yetsupportersofaffirmativeactiondonotnecessarilyneedtodespair.
Theystillhaveapathopentothem,onethatremainslegalandpopular.It
involvesresurrectingJohnsonsvisionofanaffirmativeactionprogrambased
onfairness,whichtheRev.Dr.MartinLutherKingJr.alsofavored.
Thecrucialchoicethataffirmativeactionproponentsmadelongagowas
tofocustheprogramonraceratherthanmorebroadlyondisadvantage.

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Thereweresomeobviousreasonstodoso.Americanshaveneverbeen
comfortabletalkingaboutclass.Itreeksofthesocialorderthecountryrejected
atitsfounding(Britains)andoftheeconomicsystemthecountryspent
decadesfighting(communism).ButracewasanundeniablyAmerican
problem,fromslaverytocivilrightstothediscriminationthat,accordingto
voluminoussocialscienceresearch,lingers.
Byforgoingabroaderviewofdisadvantage,collegeslosttheabilityto
claimthattheiroverridinggoalwasmeritocracy.Thatwasthekeymoment,
whentheyforfeitedfairness,RichardD.KahlenbergoftheCentury
Foundation,whohaswrittenabookaboutaffirmativeaction,toldme.
Institutionsusingaffirmativeactioncouldnotclaimtobebringing
everybodyrichandpoor,whiteandblack,nativeandimmigrantuptothe
samestartingline,inMr.Johnsonsformulation.Theyinsteadwerecreatinga
systemthatdependedonracialcategories.
Fromalegalperspective,thedecisionmadethesupporterstaskharder.
Theverylawsintendedtoaddressthecountrysracialhistorysetahighbarfor
anyracebasedsystem.Initsfirstmajoraffirmativeactionruling,theBakke
caseof1978,theSupremeCourtrejectedthenotionthatsocietywide
discriminationjustifiedpreferencesforindividuals.Thecourtreaffirmedthat
findingin2003,whilealsoreaffirmingthatdiversitywasalegitimate
rationale.
Itisimpossibletoknowwhetheraffirmativeactioncouldhavehadamore
enduringfoundationwereitbasedonabroaderequalopportunityapproach.
Proponentsnevertriedthisalternative.Courts,however,haveconsistently
upheldsocioeconomicpreferences.HadblackandLatinostudentsbeen
benefitingfromthosepreferences,asmanywould,atleastsomeportionof
affirmativeactionmightbeinlessperil.
Buttheliberalsbehindthegreatsuccessesofthecivilrightsandwomens
movementsnevershowedasmuchinterestineconomicdiversity.Oncollege

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campuses,administratorshaveinsistedforyearsthattheycareabout
disadvantage,beyondrace,buttheyhavedonerelativelylittleaboutit.They
havepreferredaversionofdiversityfocusedonelitesfromeveryrace.
BlackandLatinocollegeapplicants,aswellasathletesandsocalled
legacies,receivelargepreferencestheequivalentof150to300SATpoints.
Lowincomestudents,controllingforrace,receiveeithernopreferenceora
modestone,dependingonwhichstudyyoubelieve.Atthecountrys200most
selectivecolleges,amere5percentofstudentscomefromthebottom25
percentoftheincomespectrum,accordingtoAnthonyP.Carnevaleof
Georgetown.IncourtonWednesday,JusticeSamuelA.AlitoJr.attackedthe
politicalunderbellyofthissystem.TheUniversityofTexasarguedthat
diversitywithinracialgroupswasalsoimportant,citingtheAfricanAmerican
orHispanicchildofsuccessfulprofessionalsinDallas.Skeptically,Justice
Alitoaskedtheuniversityslawyer,Theydeservealegupagainst,letssay,an
Asianorawhiteapplicantwhoseparentsareabsolutelyaverage?
JusticeKennedyfollowedupbytellingthelawyer,inoneofthemost
quotedlinesoftheday,Sowhatyouresayingisthatwhatcountsisrace
aboveall.
EveninCalifornia,whichhasbannedracialpreferences,racecanstill
dominatethedebate.RichardH.Sander,alawprofessorattheUniversityof
California,LosAngeles,hasfoundsomehardtoexplainpatternsinU.C.L.A.s
undergraduateadmissions.Thecollegehasacceptedasignificantlyhigher
percentageofblacksandLatinosthanwhitesandAsianswiththesame
holisticscore,anumbertheadmissionsofficegivestoeveryapplicant,based
ontestscores,grades,extracurricularactivitiesandobstaclesovercome.
U.C.L.A.officialssaythattheholisticscoresdonotfullycapturetheobstacles
somestudentsface.
Backinthe1960s,Dr.Kingunderstoodthevulnerabilityoftodays
affirmativeaction.Manywhiteworkerswhoseeconomicconditionisnottoo

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farremovedfromtheeconomicconditionofhisblackbrotherwillfindit
difficulttoaccept,hewroteinaprivateletter,specialconsiderationtothe
Negrointhecontextofunemployment,joblessness,etc.anddoesnottakeinto
sufficientaccounttheirplight(thatofthewhiteworker).
Ifthecourtsandvoterscontinuetorestrictracialpreferences,supporters
willhavethreeoptions.Theycangiveup,whichisunlikely.Theycanquietly
subvertthelaw,assomecritics,likeMr.Sander,believeishappeningin
California.Ortheycanattemptanoverhaulofaffirmativeaction.
Theeconomicargumentforadifferentversionhasonlybecomestronger
overtime.Outrightracismcertainlyexists,andcollegeswouldhaveahard
timetakingitintoaccountifracebasedaffirmativeactionbecameillegal.But
simplediscriminationseemstohavebecomearelativelysmallerobstacleover
thelastfewdecades,whilesocioeconomicdisadvantagehasbecomealarger
one.
ThetitleofarecentpaperbyRolandG.FryerJr.,aHarvardeconomist,
summarizesthetrends:Racialinequalityinthe21stcentury:Thedeclining
significanceofdiscrimination.
Racialgapsremainlargeenoughthatcollegeswouldstruggletorecruitas
manyblackandLatinostudentswithoutexplicitlytakingraceintoaccount.
Butsomeexperts,likeMr.Kahlenberg,thinktheycouldcomeclose.Todoso,
theywouldneedtoconsidernotjustincome,butalsowealth,familystructure
andneighborhoodpoverty.Thosefactorsdisproportionatelyafflictblackand
Latinostudentsandholdbackchildrenfromlifesstartingline.
Mr.Kahlenbergarguesthatwealthisespeciallydefensible,becauseitcan
capturediscriminationsintergenerationaleffects.Someuniversitiesinstates
whereracialpreferencesarebanned,includingCalifornia,havebeguntaking
smallstepstoconsiderclassmorefully.
UntiltheSupremeCourtrules,sometimenextyear,thefocuswillbeonits

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decision.Anditsdecisionmatters.Yetthechoicesthatuniversitiesmake
matter,too.Youwouldnthaveknownitfromsittinginthecourtroom,but
thereisaversionofaffirmativeactionlegal,generallypopularandarguably
moremeritocraticthathighereducationhasnotyeteventried.
DavidLeonhardtistheWashingtonbureauchiefofTheNewYorkTimes.
AversionofthisnewsanalysisappearsinprintonOctober14,2012,onpageSR4oftheNewYork
editionwiththeheadline:RethinkingAffirmativeAction.

2016TheNewYorkTimesCompany

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