A Legacy of Discrimination: The Essential Constitutionality of Affirmative Action

By Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone

As U.S. Supreme Court Considers the Future of Race-Conscious Admissions Policies in Higher Education, two Eminent Constitutional Scholars Weigh in

Affirmative Action policies spark visceral reactions across American society. Some believe we do not have enough of it; others believe we have too much of it. Nearly everyone who has applied for a job or admission to a selective college or university has an opinion about affirmative action, ranging from enthusiastic support to fierce opposition.

In anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in two cases, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, expected in late spring or early summer of 2023, Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and University of Chicago Law Professor Geoffrey R. Stone have just released a book that offers a full-throated defense of affirmative action.

In their book, A Legacy of Discrimination: The Essential Constitutionality of Affirmative Action, the coauthors argue that America’s obligation to remediate past discrimination based on race is not only constitutionally permissible, it is morally mandated.

Tracing the policy to its origins back to the most important Supreme Court case of the 20^th century, 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, through the Civil Rights Movement and five decades’ worth of legal challenges to the policy, Bollinger and Stone contend that those who believe affirmative action creates more problems than it corrects, or is a solution to a problem that is no longer a problem, are misguided, because in contemporary America, the Black lived experience remains, for too many, separate and unequal.

"Affirmative action, despite its imperfections, remains the best solution currently available. And, as America’s current reckoning over race demonstrates, the need for affirmative action remains strong."

Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone

Articles and Interviews

With affirmative action at risk, Bollinger’s new book offers sharp defense. Columbia Daily Spectator. February 28, 2023.

Appearance on Amanpour & Co. PBS. November 4, 2022.

President Bollinger Weighs In on Affirmative Action Cases Being Argued Before the Supreme Court. Columbia News. October 31, 2022.

The End Of Affirmative Action Would Be A Disaster. The Atlantic. October 31, 2022.

Podcasts

President Bollinger's Leadership on Affirmative Action

As president of the University of Michigan, Bollinger led the school’s landmark civil rights litigation in Grutter v. Bollinger, a Supreme Court decision that for the first time upheld the constitutional right of colleges and universities to engage in affirmative action to advance diversity in higher education. Bollinger speaks and writes frequently about the value of racial, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity to American society through opinion columns, media interviews, and public appearances around the country.