A Colorblind Discourse Analysis of Higher Education Race-Conscious Admissions in a Post-Racial Society

Abstract

While the United States Supreme Court held in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin that the University’s admissions plan was constitutional and that race-conscious admissions policies are still permissible, the movement to eliminate the consideration of race in college and university admissions is still going strong in current litigation against the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and Harvard University. Many argue that we are living in a “post-racial” society and no longer need race-conscious admissions; how-ever, this Article argues through colorblind discourse that there has been a sustained and continual effort to eliminate the consideration of race. This Article provides an understanding of colorblind discourse, the legal background on race-conscious admissions, it applies colorblind discourse while examining current litigation, and it proposes best-practices for recruiting and retaining diversity on college campuses.