Abstract
You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race and then say, "You are free to compete with all others' and still justly believe you have been completely fair. 1 In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently. 2 I. Introduction Affirmative action in higher education has never been more established, and more vulnerable, than it is today. It is difficult to find a reputable school that does not practice some form of affirmative action, yet affirmative action is under the most serious attack it has endured in decades. Recent constitutional challenges have yielded conflicting results in Texas, Washington, Georgia, Maryland, and Michigan. The fundamental issue in these cases and in this article is whether educational diversity is a compelling interest that justifies racial preferences in university admission programs. Affirmative action programs do serve compelling interests. Our universities are, and should continue to be, places where people from different walks of life and diverse backgrounds come together to learn from one another. Learning with such people helps destroy racial stereotypes and animosity. This article argues that diversity should continue to be used as a factor in the admissions process. University education typically occurs early in life and is of limited duration. Applying affirmative action programs only during this period ...