Immigration Restrictions as Affirmative Action for Natives
Cato Institute immigration policy expert Alex Nowrasteh explains the close parallels between a policy most conservatives hate, and one most them reflexively support.
Affirmative Action
A Flawed "Popular Constitutionalist" Rationale for Disobeying Supreme Court Decisions
Harvard law Prof. Mark Tushnet and political scientist Aaron Belkin urge President Biden to disobey "gravely mistaken" Supreme Court rulings. Doing so would set a dangerous precedent likely to be abused by the right, as well as the left.
Debating the Legacy of Justice John Marshall Harlan
A critical column by Jamelle Bouie prompts an extensive reply from Peter Canellos.
Legacy Preferences, Citizenship, Migration, and the Implications of a Constitutional Ban on Hereditary Privilege
Some scholars and commentators argue that legacy preferences at public universities are unconstitutional because they are a form of hereditary privilege. If so, the same is likely true of the far more consequential hereditary privilege of citizenship that severely restricts the right to live and work in the United States.
Affirmative Action Is Racist and Therefore Wrong
If activists want to help young people, they should start before college.
Coleman Hughes and Walter Olson: The Supreme Court Got Its Affirmative Action and Gay Website Cases Right
Contra Joe Biden, they argue that these recent rulings show respect for individual rights and concern for racial and sexual minorities.
NYC Lawyer Dmitriy Shakhnevich Interviews Me on Wide Range of Law and Policy Issues
Topics covered include affirmative action, legacy preferences, the student loan forgiveness decision, refugee policy, indictments against Trump, Vladimir Putin, political ignorance, and more.
My New Washington Examiner Article on the Supreme Court's Ruling on Racial Preferences in College Admissions
The article assesses strengths and weaknesses of the Court's decision, and what it will take to implement Chief Justice Roberts' admonition that "[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it."
What it Will Take to Make Government Color-Blind
Achieving this goal will require a lot more than banning racial preferences in college admissions. That includes some measures that will make the political right uncomfortable, as well as the left.
Did the Supreme Court Roll Back Gay Rights and Civil Rights?
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern for a live discussion of the Court's recent rulings on affirmative action and same-sex wedding services.
Three Cheers for the Supreme Court
Plus: A listener question on the potential efficacy of congressional term limits.
Thoughts on the Supreme Court's Ruling in the Harvard and UNC Racial Preferences Cases
A preliminary assessment of today's decisions. The majority rightly struck a blow against the use of racial preferences for purposes of advancing "diversity" in education. But there are some flaws in its reasoning.
Of Course Legacy Admissions Should Follow Affirmative Action to the Grave
There is no reason for public universities to grant preferential treatment to the scions of their alumni.
Supreme Court on Affirmative Action: 'Eliminating Racial Discrimination Means Eliminating All of It'
In a 6–3 decision, the Court ruled that race-based affirmative action in college admissions violates the 14th Amendment.
The Unsurprising Affirmative Action Decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard
The Court's core ruling is unsurprising, but its future effects are uncertain.
How America's Growing Diversity Weakens the Case for Racial Preferences in Education
Affirmative action becomes harder to defend when it entails discrimination against a variety of racial and ethnic minority groups.
Does a Footnote in Sackett II Indicate How SCOTUS Will Resolve the Affirmative Action Cases?
Could the Court treat Justice Powell's Bakke opinion the way it treated Justice Kennedy's Rapanos opinion?
Fourth Circuit Ruling in Anti-Asian Discrimination Case Sets a Dangerous Precedent
The decision sets a dangerous precedent licensing the use of facially neutral policies to discriminate against minorities in various contexts.
Neil Gorsuch's LGBT Decision May Doom Affirmative Action in the Supreme Court
Why isn’t affirmative action in college admissions prohibited under the Civil Rights Act?
Yet Another Shady, Hypocritical Document Hoarder
Plus: The editors field a listener question on college admissions and affirmative action.
Time To End Affirmative Action? Live With David Bernstein and Kenny Xu
The authors will join Reason on Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern to discuss the Supreme Court cases alleging unlawful discrimination against Asian Americans by Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
How a Gorsuch LGBT Ruling May Doom Affirmative Action in College Admissions
The link between Bostock v. Clayton County and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina
The Originalist Debate About Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court grapples with the original meaning of the 14th Amendment in Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.
The Supreme Court's Options in the Harvard and UNC Affirmative Action Cases
The conservative majority on the Court is highly likely to rule against the two schools' use of racial preferences in admissions. But there are several different ways it could do so, which have different implications for future cases.
The Supreme Court Could End Affirmative Action
In the two cases, brought against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions argues that race-conscious admissions violate the Civil Rights Act
Could Failure to Inform Insurer of Affirmative-Action Lawsuit Cost Harvard $15 Million?
Pro-tip: If you are sued, and you expect your insurer to pick up the bill, it is a good idea to give them timely notice.
On Affirmative Action, Clarence Thomas Took a Page From Malcolm X
Understanding the jurisprudence of the conservative Supreme Court justice
Fourth Circuit Stays Trial Court Ruling Against Racial Balancing Policy Discriminating Against Asian Applicants to Prominent Virginia Public School
The stay may signal that the federal appellate court will ultimately uphold the school's policy.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Says She Intends to Recuse from Harvard Admissions Case if Confirmed
While some legal ethics experts suggest recusal would not be necessary, the SCOTUS nominee suggested she thinks otherwise.
Fairfax County School Board To Appeal Ruling Against Racial Balancing Efforts
The school board is fighting a federal judge’s ruling against a new admissions policy at Virginia's elite Thomas Jefferson High School.
Should Ketanji Brown Jackson Recuse in Harvard Admissions Case?
Does her position on Harvard University's Board of Overseers require or counsel her recusal once she is confirmed?
Federal Court Strikes Down Racial Balancing Policy Resulting in Discrimination Against Asian Applicants at Prominent Virginia Public School
The new admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology did not explicitly discriminate based on race. But the court found it was intended to reduce the number of Asian students admitted, in order to increase the percentage of students from other groups.
Rights and Wrongs of Replacing Traditional Affirmative Action with Preferences for Descendants of Slaves
This approach would avoid many of the flaws of traditional racial preferences. But it has some downsides of its own.
My Boston Globe op ed on What the Supreme Court Should do in the Harvard and UNC Affirmative Action Cases
I argue the justices should crack down on the dubious "diversity" rationale for racial preferences, and curb discrimination against Asian-American applicants.
My NBC Article on the Affirmative Action Cases Accepted by the Supreme Court.
The article explains key issues in the case, and outlines what I think the Court should do.
Supreme Court To Hear 2 Cases Challenging Race-Based College Admissions
The Supreme Court could decide the fate of affirmative action at public and private universities.
Supreme Court Takes Two Cases Challenging Racial Preferences in College Admissions
One involves racial preferences at Harvard, the other at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Kenny Xu: The Growing Attacks on Asian American Excellence
The Inconvenient Minority author and head of Color Us United says it's time for the country to become truly colorblind.
Sixth Circuit Enjoins Use of Race and Sex Preferences for Coronavirus Relief Funding
A divided panel grants a preliminary injunction against privileging relief applications based on the race or sex of the applicant.
Lawsuit Challenging Racial Balancing and anti-Asian Discrimination at Prominent Selective Public High School Will Proceed
A federal court denied the Fairfax County School Board's motion to dismiss the case.
Federal Race-/Sex-Based Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants Blocked
A court issues a temporary restraining order, finding plaintiff's claim was likely to succeed on the merits.
John McWhorter on Cursing, Anti-Racism, and Why 'We Need to Stop Being So Afraid'
Columbia University linguist John McWhorter on "anti-racism" as a new, misguided civic religion and his new book on curses, Nine Nasty Words.