Affirmative Action - 'Racial Division or Racial Unification' in a Post-Racial World in Higher Education

Abstract

The paper provides an assessment of Affirmative Action over the past twenty five years. The issue of affirmative action in higher education has been give some unique interpretations by the United States Supreme Court. The focal point of the paper is the backdrop of affirmative action as adjudicated in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), and Fisher v. University of Texas (2013). The Supreme Court decisions in these three cases present an "ambivalent" and arguably conflicting view of race-conscious affirmative action programs and policies in higher education. It has been suggested that the confusion left by the adjudicatory decision in these cases continue to cloud the perspective of whether affirmative action in higher education presents a racial divide or provides the framework for racial unification in higher education in a "Post-Racial" world. The question resonates following the decision in Gratz, Grutter, and Fisher, as to whether what the Supreme Court gave in earlier years with one hand, has now in later years been taken away with the other hand.

Keywords: Affirmative Action; Higher Education; Racial Equality

JEL Classification: J71, J78