Enforced Colorblindness

The time for race consciousness is over, and the era of enforced colorblindness is upon us. The dawn of this new age is troubling because it closes the door on effective strategies to achieve racial justice, including efforts to grant federal reparations. This Article analyzes the areas in which courts have invalidated race-conscious measures, with a particular focus on recent racial equity efforts by the Biden Administration. Rather than treating the loss of race consciousness exclusively as a loss to the movement for equality, this Article argues for a silver-lining approach.

While court-led efforts to remedy the effects of slavery and Jim Crow have produced significant results, the weaknesses of this strategy also became apparent over time. Given that all principles of justice are subject to debate and reinterpretation, the oft-maligned bedrock principle of equality of opportunity (“EOO”) deserves a reassessment by progressives. Its moral weight and general acceptance by the public still provide a clarion call for substantive policies that will benefit minorities and disadvantaged people of all races.