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The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: The Elusive Search for Racial Equity in Higher Education
Author(s) -
Renner K. Edward,
Moore Thom
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
analyses of social issues and public policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1530-2415
pISSN - 1529-7489
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-2415.2004.00045.x
Subject(s) - affirmative action , equity (law) , racial equality , diversity (politics) , social justice , social equality , economic justice , inequality , racial bias , political science , equal opportunity , higher education , action (physics) , racism , sociology , criminology , law , law and economics , mathematical analysis , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics
In 1965, when affirmative action officially became part of the national consensus to achieve racial social justice, it was based on the compelling justification of establishing equality and remedying the effects of past discrimination. Since then, there has been a slow but steady shift from “equity” to “diversity” as its rationale. The shift has had a negative effect on achieving the original goal of racial equality. The diversity rationale has permitted parallel procedures to evolve that provided majority students with an even larger differential advantage than that conferred on minority students by affirmative action. In addition, we continue to have massive segregation. Minorities are concentrated in second level schools in urban areas, while whites are concentrated in higher quality institutions in the educational suburbs. It is without factual or legal foundation that whites can argue that they (relative to minorities) are the victims of discrimination through unfair and unequal educational policies and practices that determine access to higher education.