Riveting conversation. Kennedy outnumbered three to one but seems to relish these kinds of interactions. Wish he had explained what was so egregious (in his view) about the Shelby decision to us non-lawyers but that would probably have taken the full hour.
I'm not sure that Kennedy's clerkship is all that relevant. He sees very good arguments on both sides of the SFA v. Harvard case. I would like to have heard more from him about why he sees Shelby differently.
There's a backstory that explains why people who justifiably think of Justice Marshall as a civil rights hero have enmity towards Justice Thomas. I wrote a post about this elsewhere on this site:
I won't rehash that post, but suffice it to say that the contrast between Justice Marshall and Justice Thomas is sharp. Justice Marshall is a hero for Professor Kennedy. Glenn pointed out his disdain for Justice Thomas in his City Journal essay. It's easy to connect the dots and understand why.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is sacred for older blacks, including Professor Kennedy. They'll never concede that it accomplished its mission, as Chief Justice Roberts pointed out in the majority opinion. It's always 1955, as another commenter said, for these folks. The six states that were originally subjected to the law can never be trusted to run their election processes without pre-clearance from the federal government.
Professor Kennedy's position before the Harvard case was decided was also emotional, as evidenced by this NY Times essay of his that was published in early June of last year:
The title, "The Truth Is, Many Americans Just Don't Want Black People to Get Ahead" doesn't square with the position that there are good arguments on both sides. Much of the essay drew upon historical events that occurred 150 years ago. Professor Kennedy didn't acknowledge the quality of opposing views in this NPR article after the decision was handed down either:
Professor Kennedy's positions are consistent with those of older blacks, but aren't consistent with those of younger blacks. A new Gallup survey shows that 62% of blacks between the ages of 18 and 39 view the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision positively, while 56% of blacks 40 and older view it negatively:
No disrespect to Professor Kennedy, but the world is slowly, but surely passing him by. Nobody will care about Shelby vs. Holder a hundred years from now.
With respect, I'm interested in understanding Kennedy's position from his own perspective, not a psychosocial interpretation of it. None of the people in this conversation showed the slightest bit of condescension towards Kennedy, even though they disagreed firmly on many points. Your posts, in contrast, are dripping with condescension. Not useful in my opinion.
Here's an excerpt from the book that the interviewer discussed with Professor Kennedy:
"...if Thomas is not a sellout., then the term has no utility. He is the paradigmatic figure who many African Americans rightly despise - the black who, from a position of privilege obtained by the sponsorship of powerful whites, consistently subverts struggles for African American collective elevation, all the while deploying his blackness as a shield against criticism."
Professor Kennedy's views on Shelby v. Holder can be found in several publications, including London Review of Books, The Nation, and Harper's Magazine:
Read them for yourself and draw your own conclusions about Professor Kennedy's assertion that Shelby vs. Holder is one of the Supreme Court's worst decisions.
Thanks, those links are useful, and not just for me. I've read the book but it's been a while and I probably need to take another look. Haven't read the articles yet but will try to find time.
Kennedy's Race, Crime and the Law is an absolute classic, I see my own book with Dan O'Flaherty as building on that foundation. Cited it maybe a dozen times there. I can see why Glenn has such respect for him and places such value on the friendship.
Riveting conversation. Kennedy outnumbered three to one but seems to relish these kinds of interactions. Wish he had explained what was so egregious (in his view) about the Shelby decision to us non-lawyers but that would probably have taken the full hour.
Please see my post above. Professor Kennedy clerked for Justice Marshall, so his reaction makes sense on an emotional level.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/09/former-clerks-recall-mr-civil-rights-thurgood-marshall/
The numbers show that the impacts have been minimal
I'm not sure that Kennedy's clerkship is all that relevant. He sees very good arguments on both sides of the SFA v. Harvard case. I would like to have heard more from him about why he sees Shelby differently.
There's a backstory that explains why people who justifiably think of Justice Marshall as a civil rights hero have enmity towards Justice Thomas. I wrote a post about this elsewhere on this site:
https://glennloury.substack.com/p/livestream-event-glenn-loury-on-clarence/comments
I won't rehash that post, but suffice it to say that the contrast between Justice Marshall and Justice Thomas is sharp. Justice Marshall is a hero for Professor Kennedy. Glenn pointed out his disdain for Justice Thomas in his City Journal essay. It's easy to connect the dots and understand why.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is sacred for older blacks, including Professor Kennedy. They'll never concede that it accomplished its mission, as Chief Justice Roberts pointed out in the majority opinion. It's always 1955, as another commenter said, for these folks. The six states that were originally subjected to the law can never be trusted to run their election processes without pre-clearance from the federal government.
Professor Kennedy's position before the Harvard case was decided was also emotional, as evidenced by this NY Times essay of his that was published in early June of last year:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/opinion/resistance-black-advancement-affirmative-action.html
The title, "The Truth Is, Many Americans Just Don't Want Black People to Get Ahead" doesn't square with the position that there are good arguments on both sides. Much of the essay drew upon historical events that occurred 150 years ago. Professor Kennedy didn't acknowledge the quality of opposing views in this NPR article after the decision was handed down either:
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1181138066/affirmative-action-supreme-court-decision
Professor Kennedy's positions are consistent with those of older blacks, but aren't consistent with those of younger blacks. A new Gallup survey shows that 62% of blacks between the ages of 18 and 39 view the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision positively, while 56% of blacks 40 and older view it negatively:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/578645/age-plays-key-role-black-views-affirmative-action-case.aspx
No disrespect to Professor Kennedy, but the world is slowly, but surely passing him by. Nobody will care about Shelby vs. Holder a hundred years from now.
With respect, I'm interested in understanding Kennedy's position from his own perspective, not a psychosocial interpretation of it. None of the people in this conversation showed the slightest bit of condescension towards Kennedy, even though they disagreed firmly on many points. Your posts, in contrast, are dripping with condescension. Not useful in my opinion.
Here's a link to an interview Professor Kennedy did with GBH News a couple of years ago to discuss his book, "Say It Loud!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5TQAUaI2fw
Here's an excerpt from the book that the interviewer discussed with Professor Kennedy:
"...if Thomas is not a sellout., then the term has no utility. He is the paradigmatic figure who many African Americans rightly despise - the black who, from a position of privilege obtained by the sponsorship of powerful whites, consistently subverts struggles for African American collective elevation, all the while deploying his blackness as a shield against criticism."
Professor Kennedy's views on Shelby v. Holder can be found in several publications, including London Review of Books, The Nation, and Harper's Magazine:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n02/randall-kennedy/cynical-realism
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n15/randall-kennedy/racist-litter
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/justice-deferred-racial-equality-supreme-court/
https://harpers.org/archive/2015/08/old-poison-new-battles/
Read them for yourself and draw your own conclusions about Professor Kennedy's assertion that Shelby vs. Holder is one of the Supreme Court's worst decisions.
Thanks, those links are useful, and not just for me. I've read the book but it's been a while and I probably need to take another look. Haven't read the articles yet but will try to find time.
Kennedy's Race, Crime and the Law is an absolute classic, I see my own book with Dan O'Flaherty as building on that foundation. Cited it maybe a dozen times there. I can see why Glenn has such respect for him and places such value on the friendship.
Fair enough. We agree to disagree.