| Descript |
xv, 210 pages ; 25 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-204) and index. |
| Contents |
Part I. The race-conscious logic of color-blind constitutionalism -- Beyond color-blindness and color-consciousness -- Constitutional racism, redemptive constitutionalism -- Part II. Color-blindness against the color line -- The lessons of Plessy -- The limits of Brown -- Part III. Color-blindness after the color line -- Defending white rights -- Is race equality unconstitutional? |
| Summary |
"More than just a legal doctrine, color-blind constitutionalism has emerged as the defining metaphor of the post-Civil Rights era. Even for those challenging its constitutional authority, the language of color-blindness sets the terms of debate. Critics of color-blind constitutionalism are in this sense captured by the object of their critique. And yet, paradoxically, to enact a color-blind rule actually requires a heightened awareness of race. As such, color-blind constitutionalism represents a particular form of racial consciousness rather than an alternative to it. Challenging familiar understandings of race, rights, and American law, [this book] explores how current equal protection law renders the pursuit of racial equality constitutionally suspect. Identifying hierarchy rather than equality as an enduring constitutional norm, the book demonstrates how the pursuit of racial equality, historically, has been viewed as a violation of white rights. Arguing against conservative and liberal redemption narratives, both of which imagine racial equality as the perfection of American democracy, Is Racial Equality Unconstitutional? calls instead for a break from the current constitutional order, that it may be re-founded upon principles of racial democracy." -- Publisher's website. |
| Subject |
Equality before the law -- United States.
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Race discrimination -- Law and legislation -- United States.
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Constitutional law -- United States.
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| ISBN |
9780190683603 (hardcover ; alkaline paper) |
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0190683600 (hardcover ; alkaline paper) |
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