Summary
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke: American Education and Affirmative Action familiarizes students with the landmark Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of affirmative action. In 1973 and 1974, Allan Bakke, a white male, was denied admission to the medical school at the University of California in Davis, despite being well qualified. Bakke filed suit, claiming racial discrimination. In a closely divided 1978 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of programs giving advantage to minorities, but denied quota systems in college admissions. They ruled that the UC medical school had, by maintaining a 16-percent minority quota, discriminated against Bakke. Allan Bakke was later admitted to the school, and graduated in 1992. Here, Professor Tim McNeese, who was also a consulting historian for the History Channel’s Risk Takers, History Makers series, explains affirmative action and the background behind this lawsuit, as well as the controversy caused by the Court's decision.
Specifications
Full-color photographs. Glossary. Sidebars. Chronology/Timeline. Further reading. Bibliography. Source notes. Index.
About the Author(s)
Series consulting editor and author Tim McNeese is an associate professor of history at York College in York, Nebraska, where he has taught for 14 years. Professor McNeese earned his Associate of Arts degree from York College, a B.A. in history and political science from Harding University, and an M.A. in history from Missouri State University. A prolific author, McNeese has published more than 80 books and educational materials for elementary, middle school, high school, and college readers over the past 20 years, on everything from Alexander Hamilton to the siege of Masada. His writing has earned him a citation in the library reference work Something About the Author. In 2005, his textbook Political Revolutions of the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries was published. Professor McNeese served as a consulting historian for the History Channel series Risk Takers, History Makers: John Wesley Powell and the Grand Canyon.