Strategic equality and the failure of affirmative action law

The changing standards used by the federal courts to adjudicate affirmative action in employment and post-secondary education, driven more by changes in personnel than by any real cultural or societal shifts, now pose a threat to US democracy. The case of Fisher v. University of Texas, recently granted review, opens anew the 2003 Supreme Court ruling that universities may consider race for the purpose of achieving diversity, if that diversity satisfies the strict scrutiny standard requiring a compelling governmental interest in programs narrowly tailored to meet whatever government interest may be involved. The real question should, of course, center on whether the diversity standard adequately meets the political and economic demands the USA seems certain to face in the coming century, as people of color move from minority to majority status. Drawing upon data from the General Social Survey, the Current Population Survey, and the National Center for Education Statistics, I contend here that diversity alone is inadequate because it is non-remedial and leaves in place both white privilege and Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American disadvantage.