J. Scott Carter is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Central Florida. His research interests encompass several areas, including race and politics, racial attitudes, racial inequality in education, and Southern and urban place. Cameron D. Lippard is an Professor and Chair of Sociology at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. His primary research agenda examines the social integration of Latino immigrants into the American South, as well as examining how individuals and people use color-blind language to justify racist actions and policies within various American institutions.

• IntroductionAffirmative Action and Higher EducationRace, the Affirmative Action Debate, Education, and Past Court CasesWho is Fighting the FightCase Study 1: The Gratz/Grutter Supreme Court Cases against the University of MichiganCase Study 2: The Fisher Supreme Court Cases against the University of Texas at AustinConclusions

"This is an essential reading for all who wish to understand the debate surrounding affirmative action and the more general state of race in the U.S. today." Mamadi Corra, East Carolina University