When Equality Ends

Richard Delgado is one of the most evocative and forceful voices writing on the subject of race and law in America today. The New York Times has described him as a “pioneer” of critical race theory, the bold and provocative movement that, according to the Times “will be influencing the practice of law for years to come.” Stanley Fish calls his previous book, The Rodrigo Chronicles, a “stunning performance.” In When Equality Ends: Stories About Race and Resistance, Delgado, adopting his trademark storytelling approach, casts aside the dense, dry language so commonly associated with legal writing, and offers up a series of incisive and compelling conversations about race in America. The characters, a young professor of color, an aging veteran of many civil rights struggles, and a brilliant young conservative, tackle a handful of complex legal and policy questions in an engaging and accessible manner.Has U.S. society quietly ended its commitment to minorities and to racial equality? In these new chronicles, Delgado searches for an answer. The book explores the main normative premise of Alternative Dispute Resolution; examines doctrinalism and legal formalism; questions whether regulation and the free market have failed to alleviate poverty in the colonias settlements of the Southwest; and asks whether Title VII and civil rights laws are necessary in today’s legal system. From an examination of the positive role that racial mixture and multiple consciousness will have on America’s future to a look at the harmful impact that new human reproductive technologies are likely to have on minorities, Delgado tackles a number of timely and provocative issues. Written for both students and general readers, When Equality Ends: Stories About Race and Resistance provides a highly accessible introduction to critical race theory and the new approach to civil rights.

Richard Delgado is the Derrick A. Bell Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of When Equality Ends (Westview Press), The Rodrigo Chronicles, and The Coming Race War? And Other Apocalyptic Tales of America After Affirmative Action and Welfare. Delgado is the winner of eight national book awards and is a frequent television and newspaper commentator on race and civil rights.Jean Stefancic is research professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh Law School and Derrick A. Bell Scholar in Law. She is the author of No Mercy: How Conservative Think Tanks and Foundations Changed America's Social Agenda, and a frequent contributor to the literature on race and civil rights.