Post-Racial Constitutionalism and the Roberts Court: Rhetorical Neutrality and the Perpetuation of Inequality

by Cedric Merlin Powell

Overview

Post-Racial Constitutionalism and the Roberts Court: Rhetorical Neutrality and the Perpetuation of Inequality provides the first comprehensive Critical Race Theory critique of the United States Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts. Since being named to the Court in 2005, Chief Justice Roberts has maintained a position of neutrality in his opinions on race. By dissecting neutrality and how it functions as a unifying feature in all the Court's race jurisprudence, this book illustrates the consequences of this ostensible impartiality. By examining the Court's racial jurisprudence dating back to the Reconstruction, the book shows how the Court has actively rationalized systemic oppression through neutral rhetoric and the elevation of process-based decisional values, which are rooted in democratic myths of inclusivity and openness. Timely and trenchant, the book illustrates the permanence of racism and how neutrality must be rejected to achieve true empowerment and substantive equality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108813860
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/12/2023
Pages:	251
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

Cedric Merlin Powell is the Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs Professor of Law and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. His extensive publications in articles, essays, and book reviews explore the connection between neutrality and structural inequality.

Table of Contents

1. Rhetorical neutrality and post-racial historicism; 2. The Burger and Rehnquist Courts: transitional equality and post-racial colorblindness; 3. The Roberts Court and post-racial constitutionalism; 4. Post-racial process discourse: Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action; 5. Fisher II: Post-racial process values and the diversity myth; 6. Ricci v. DeStefano: Post-racial neutrality, opportunity, and results; 7. Texas Department of Housing Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.: disparate impact and post-racialism; 8. Voting rights: contrived federalism and the problem of second-generation discrimination; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

‘Professor Cedric Powell has synthesized the Court’s race cases into a wonderfully lucid theory that explains how we have arrived at an age where a Chief Justice can blithely declare, without irony, that the ‘way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.’ Powell’s brilliant book provides insight about where we likely will go in the next decades, teaching us that we are naive to believe that the Court will be an ally in the struggle for racial justice.’ Khiara M. Bridges, Professor of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law

‘Professor Powell’s ‘Post-Racial Constitutionalism’ is a uniquely valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand Critical Race Theory and its application to both constitutional history and doctrine. As Professor Powell puts it, ‘When it comes to acknowledging the salience of race as an organizing principle of subordination in American society the Court has always been post-racial.’’ Ross E. Davies, Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

From the Publisher