The Unfinished Business of Desegregation: Race Conscious College Admissions

This rejection of race conscious admissions practices under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by the [Supreme] Court requires a revisit to desegregation jurisprudence and practice to demonstrate why the considerations of race in higher education admissions fulfills the desegregation mandate. Given its rich history and contributions to the formation of equality norms and affirmative action, desegregation jurisprudence and practice provide a foundation for the premise that the use of race in college admissions constitutes a compelling state interest, supported by specific evidence of discrimination, that moves us closer to the democratization of education and racial equality under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses. Part I summarizes the jurisprudence of desegregation law in K–12 and higher education. The jurisprudence supports the rationale proffered in Part II for a compelling governmental interest—undergirded by evidence of the present effects of past discrimination in K–12 education traceable to de jure segregation—for considering race as a factor in college admissions.

This abstract has been taken from the author's introduction.