School districts that use race as the primary factor in their desegregation plans can also follow the 40 or so school districts that use income level instead, Brown suggests.
All in all though, Brown says he was “amazed” that Kennedy decided to jump on the moderate side of the fence for this issue.
“He’s been such a strong member of the conservative bloc on issues related to race,” says Brown. For example, in 2003 Kennedy voted with the minority not to uphold the University of Michigan Law School’s affirmative action admissions policy.
“But it does appear like here he’s trying to move to capture the middle ground that was vacated by [retired Justice Sandra Day] O’Connor’s resignation.”
In the opinion of many legal experts, Kennedy has already taken over the moderate position that O’Connor championed until her resignation in 2006.
Brown says it’s no coincidence that Kennedy, who was appointed in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan, is becoming more moderate on issues of race.
“I think that one of the things that we’ve seen with some conservatives justices is that over a period of time, as they begin to really grapple with the issue of race in American society, they seem to thaw their edge a little bit with the philosophical notion that race shouldn’t matter,” he says.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
