The Devil is in the Lack of Details

Abstract

In an interesting and potentially important article, Professor Deirdre M. Bowen declares that her goal “is to scrutinize what happens when the judiciary and anti– affirmative action activist groups exploit color blindness to rationalize away affirmative action admissions policies.” 1 She argues that her research and her study demonstrate that “reactionary ‘color blindness’” 2 does not actually show that “affirmative action is no longer necessary.” 3 Instead, she believes the results of her study establish that anti–affirmative action forces have embraced an “ideal [that] does not appear to exist” and are “promoting a deeply flawed discourse [by asserting] that affirmative action causes stigma.” 4