Affirmative Action as Reparations for Slavery and Legal Discrimination: Amicus Brief in Support of Respondents

Abstract

Affirmative action in education is generally justified on two grounds: as a narrowly tailored remedy for specific past discrimination, and to enhance diversity. The paper is an amicus brief filed in the US Supreme Court cases Gratz and Grutter (the University of Michigan affirmative action cases). This brief defends affirmative action as reparations for the crimes of slavery and legal discrimination, without the need for strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The concept of racial preferences is also critiqued and reparations are not categorized as racial preferences. Finally, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is viewed as supportive of affirmative action as a remedy for past injustice.