Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2008
ISSN
0008-1221
Publisher
University of California Berkeley School of Law
Language
en-US
Abstract
This Article examines the strength of arguments concerning the causal connection between racial stigma and affirmative action. In so doing, this article reports and analyzes the results of a survey on internal stigma (feelings of dependency, inadequacy, or guilt) and external stigma (the burden of others' resentment or doubt about one's qualifications) for the Class of 2009 at seven public law schools, four of which employed race-based affirmative action policies when the Class of 2009 was admitted and three of which did not use such policies at that time. Specifically, this Article examines and presents survey findings of 1) minimal, if any, internal stigma felt by minority law students, regardless of whether their schools practiced race-based affirmative action; 2) no statistically significant difference in internal stigma between minority students at affirmative action law school and non-affirmative action law schools; and 3) no significant impact from external stigma.
Recommended Citation
Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Emily Houh & Mary Campbell,
Cracking the Egg: Which Came First—Stigma or Affirmative Action?
,
in
96
California Law Review
1299
(2008).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/309
Comments
Symposium: Taking Initiative on Initiatives: Examining Proposition 209 and Beyond
Reprinted with variations in Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge, 3rd ed., edited by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, Temple University Press (2013).