Melvin I. Urofsky is a man conflicted. A distinguished, retired constitutional historian with numerous books to his credit, he has attempted to write a non-polemical history of affirmative action. He promises the reader a detailed narrative of affirmative action’s emergence, evolution, debates, and battles with a fair rendering of the arguments of its friends and foes. He is also considerate enough to forewarn readers of his own biases, while acknowledging that affirmative action is fraught with both philosophical and practical difficulties that divide people of good will and serious judgment. He himself believes in it, especially in its “softer forms,” and thinks it will continue to be necessary for the indefinite future. All this reflects a bifurcated mindset, one half old-fashioned liberal, the other a “woke” geriatric.
As a historian, Urofsky delivers on his promises . . . for the
Get access to this article, plus the entire archive, by subscribing.