Affirmative Action is a contested concept in the United States (U.S.). "Fisher v. the University of Texas" (UT) is a key recent case focused on Fisher, a White woman, an alleged victim of discrimination. Fisher spurred online discussion about race as a factor in university admissions. The authors analyzed 13,158 tweets using #StayMadAbby…

Despite being academically unqualified for admission to the University of Texas at Austin, Abigail Fisher, a White female, argued that she was not admitted due to the university's diversity policy. In addition to framing postsecondary admissions as a zero-sum phenomenon, Ms. Fisher intentionally frames students of color who are admitted to the…

This essay examines the significance of the fortuitous Fisher v. University of Texas Supreme Court decision within a broader historical framework of similar affirmative action legal disputes. The author locates Fisher among a historical trajectory of manoeuvres intended to destabilise modest Civil Rights Era advances toward racial justice.…

Over the last few years, even as the U.S. Supreme Court was considering the constitutionality of race-conscious policies in postsecondary admissions in "Fisher v. University of Texas" (2016), a new wave of attacks in the conservative agenda to dismantle affirmative action (as the policy is more commonly called) emerged. First, in 2014…

Legal decisions about affirmative action in higher education do more than impact how admissions policies are structured. The discourse produced in these decisions structures how race is talked about, understood, and enacted in the context of higher education and beyond. However, critique of affirmative action rhetoric in the legal realm tends to…

Using critical discourse analysis, this study assesses reader comments to newspaper articles on the "Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin" Supreme Court case. The Fisher case challenges the consideration of race in the college admissions process at UT. Findings show that this racial equity practice was framed as being antithetical to…

In this article we extend Bell's work on interest convergence by using Harris' work on whiteness as property to articulate a cycle of interest convergence, interest divergence, and imperialistic reclamation, or convergence-divergence-reclamation (C-D-R, pronounced "cedar"). We then apply the C-D-R cycle lens to the evolution of federal…

Issues regarding the equal employment of white ethnic Americans are discussed in this presentation by the Executive Director of the Polish American Congress. It is held that Federal efforts to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, creed, sex, and national origin are actually only acting to overcome discrimination based on race, color, and…

In a test of affirmative-action policies, a white teacher, Sharon Taxman, filed reverse discrimination charges when her downsizing district terminated her and kept a black teacher of nearly identical qualifications. The case was settled out of court. If the U.S. Supreme Court had heard the case under either the Equal Protection or Title VII…

The United States Supreme Court has had a significant role in the exploration and definition of affirmative action in this country. No more so than in the recent decisions related to the University of Michigan admissions cases. This article will explore the historical role of the U.S. Supreme Court and the decisions that this entity has made in…

Suggests that the notion of "reverse discrimination" is a cultural belief representing a racial ideological process. Describes how the notion (1) emerged from past racial belief patterns; (2) differentially influences policy on the allocation of privileged economic roles among social groups; and (3) reintegrates cultural beliefs into…

Contains five essays and editorial on the theme of Black/white alliances, 1941-1983. Topics discussed include a look back at slavery, rhetorical alliances in the Civil Rights era, how the nature of legal arguments limits Black educational advancement, political alliances, and religious alliances. (CMG)

Examines the historical process whereby racist policies and practices were institutionalized within organized labor. Concludes that legal and philosophical arguments equating affirmative action with "quotas" and "reverse discrimination" are merely the most recent expression of the continuing effort to perpetuate the privileged position of whites…

Explores legal conflicts that arise between seniority principles and affirmative action goals when public schools must reduce their workforces. Suggests that minority students' right to equal education, which demands a substantial minority faculty presence, should be a prevailing concern in dealing with layoffs. (Author/MJL)

The Cincinnati (Ohio) Public School System was evaluated for the eighth year on progress on ongoing issues resulting from the Bronson Settlement, a court ordered equal education program. This year's evaluation focused on staff racial balance, the Coalition of Innovative Schools, student discipline, and continuation of Bronson initiatives. The…