Suchergebnisse

African Americans and other people of color seek redress for their racial injuries. However, if we are living in a post-racial society, one that is blind to race, then widespread redress makes no sense since widespread discrimination allegedly is a thing of the past. Therefore, it is worth asking, "if racial justice is about remembering racial injury, ha[s] our law made that memory impossible, erased by official color-blindness?" This question has been central to the study of law among Critical Race theorists since Critical Race Theory's (CRT) inception. Therefore, an analytical convergence of CRT and Marxism should help disentangle the morass that is antidiscrimination law. The connection between Marxism and CRT can be appreciated by examining the limitations of civil rights laws in alleviating some of the most pressing social and political stresses on communities of color today. And yet, the connection seems to get lost beneath the din of those who claim that we are experiencing our first post-racial moment in a larger post-Marxist epoch. The aim of this Essay is to examine how a convergence of Marxism and CRT might enhance a critique of the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of race discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

This article examines this recent surge of student activism to determine how it fits within larger social movements and to evaluate how receptive courts and legislatures may be to some of the claims raised by the protests. Significant changes in civil rights laws have often been driven by significant shifts in societal perceptions of and engagement with social justice issues. And importantly, social movements have often fostered the political pressure necessary for social, legal, and political reform. There is the potential for these protests to influence courts and legislatures and shape their interpretations of legal rules in ways that recognize the poverty of colorblindness and instead incorporate race-conscious analysis. Part I examines some of the student protests, their aims, their demands, the circumstances that led to them, and identifies the cleavages and contradictions they expose in university administration and public policy debates. Part II critically examines some of the laws implicated by these protests, for example, affirmative action, Title VI, and the First Amendment, and explores expanded interpretations of those laws which might be prompted by further activism. Part III argues that the student protests, reflecting larger social movements, have the potential to counter the neoliberal restructuring of higher education so that universities can reorient themselves towards serving the public good. Campus activism can play a critical role in protecting civil rights and liberties in the current political climate.

This article examines this recent surge of student activism to determine how it fits within larger social movements and to evaluate how receptive courts and legislatures may be to some of the claims raised by the protests. Significant changes in civil rights laws have often been driven by significant shifts in societal perceptions of and engagement with social justice issues. And importantly, social movements have often fostered the political pressure necessary for social, legal, and political reform. There is the potential for these protests to influence courts and legislatures and shape their interpretations of legal rules in ways that recognize the poverty of colorblindness and instead incorporate race-conscious analysis. Part I examines some of the student protests, their aims, their demands, the circumstances that led to them, and identifies the cleavages and contradictions they expose in university administration and public policy debates. Part II critically examines some of the laws implicated by these protests, for example, affirmative action, Title VI, and the First Amendment, and explores expanded interpretations of those laws which might be prompted by further activism. Part III argues that the student protests, reflecting larger social movements, have the potential to counter the neoliberal restructuring of higher education so that universities can reorient themselves towards serving the public good. Campus activism can play a critical role in protecting civil rights and liberties in the current political climate.