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…

This article revisits the University of Michigan's 2003 affirmative action cases, "Grutter v. Bollinger" and "Gratz v. Bollinger." Through the aid of critical textual analysis and critical race theory, the author looks back at the predominant narratives that framed the challenge to, and defense of, race-conscious affirmative…