When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America

With this explosive analysis, Ira Katznelson fundamentally recast our understanding of twentieth-century American history, demonstrating that the key programs passed during the New Deal and Fair Deal eras were not, as we are so often told, fundamentally equitable or impartial, but discriminatory in the way they deliberately excluded African Americans from benefits. In fact, Katznelson writes, the gap between black and white Americans actually widened following this period, owing, in no small part, to the segregationist designs of southern Democrats. Now featuring a new introduction that situates this saga within the wider context of twentieth- and twenty-first-century history, When Affirmative Action Was White remains, tragically, as salient as ever, providing both a "painful understanding of how politics and race intersect" (Henry Louis Gates Jr.) and a broad justification for continuing affirmative action programs.

Author: Ira Katznelson
Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation
Published: 01/31/2023
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.70w x 1.10d
ISBN13: 9781324051084
ISBN10: 1324051086
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | 20th Century
- Social Science | Discrimination
- Political Science | Civil Rights