“The Unfinished Work”

john a. powellDirector, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity

Advancing New Strategies in the Struggle for Civil Rights

UNC Center for Civil RightsNovember 1-2, 2010

Judges have tried to narrowly define Civil Rights….

But everything is connected.

Radical Origins of Reconstruction Amendments

Retrenchment, Step 1: The Trilogy

The Slaughter-House Cases (1873) Nullifies the Privileges or Immunities Clause

The Civil Rights Cases (1883) State action doctrine

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Separate but equal

Retrenchment, Step 2: Modern Precedent

Brown v. Board of Education Ambiguous whether anti-subordination or anti-classification

logic applies

Adarand Constructors v. Pena All govt. racial classifications must pass strict scrutiny

Grutter and Gratz Racial considerations okay to promote diversity in higher ed,

but must be part of holistic process

Parents Involved Plurality, save J. Kennedy, says 14th Amendment means anti-

classification/colorblindness approach

Remaining Equity Tools

Affirmative action programs increasingly in doubt

State action requirement is an obstacle

Structural remedies very difficult

…

Examining one wire is not enough

One wire cannot explain why a bird cannot fly. But multiple wires, arranged in specific ways, reinforce each other and trap the bird.

We must look at systems, structures, and structural racialization

Lower Educational

Outcomes

Increased Flight

of Affluent Families

Neighborhood Segregation

SchoolSegregation &Concentrated

Poverty

We see that the answer to “why aren’t we moving forward” is more structural than we realize.

The Need for Systems Thinking

Housing

Childcare Employment

Education

Health

Transportation

Effective Participation

An analysis of any one area will yield an incomplete

understanding.

We must consider how institutions interact with one another to produce

racialized outcomes.

For more information please visit us online at www.kirwaninstitute.org