Race-Blind Policies

Heather Downs

Race-blind policies, also referred to as color-blind policies, are policies that seek to eliminate racial or ethnic categories and preferences from admissions or applications processes. Race-blind policies are a response to affirmative action policies that use race as one of the factors in determining admission to an institution or in awarding government contracts. The integration of these policies is usually debated at the collegiate level, where recent events at the University of Michigan and in the states of California and Texas illustrated the ongoing controversy over these policies. Debates over the two types of policies thus provide information on current attitudes on the status of race and racial equality within the United States. A distinct set of values, concerns, and political practices drives the proponents and opponents of race-blind policies. Often the debate about the integration of race-blind policies coincides with debates about affirmative action policies. Two recent Supreme Court ...

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