Law Prof. Edley Holds Book-Signing

A Law School professor and former special counsel to President Clinton delivered a wide-ranging discourse yesterday on the future of affirmative action.

Professor of Law Christopher F. Edley Jr. spoke before an audience of about a dozen people at an event designed to promote his latest book, Not All Black and White.

Edley said he was drafted to write a comprehensive analysis of affirmative action issues, including an overview of social science evidence, public policy developments and private sector practices.

"I tried to think of the critical issues that a thoughtful person would consider in developing a coherent policy on affirmative action," he said, drawing on his experiences as a Clinton adviser.

He said his main advice to Clinton while working for him for several months last year was to stress the importance of developing stable affirmative action policies at the national level.

"If you are not consistent in policy issues, it appears that you are following ad hoc politics," Edley said he told the president.

In the discussion at Harvard Bookstore, Edley described a series of social science studies outlined in his book.

In these studies, all qualities and characteristics between two individuals were matched as closely as possible except for one factor such as gender or race.

These two individuals were then asked to apply for the same job and the reactions of the employers were carefully studied.

In 28 to 30 percent of cases, people from minority groups such as blacks or Latinos were treated "less favorably," according to Edley.

Another study matched the income levels and qualifications of people and asked them to seek rental property. About 40 percent of minorities were either turned down or received less positively than their white counterparts, according to Edley.

Although he said he believes discrimination is still very much a part of American society, Edley offered a number of different perspectives for understanding affirmative action.

For instance, he distinguished between the remedial and diversity approaches, emphasizing that the former is based on correcting past actions, while the latter values the unique traits of individuals for their own sake.

Edley also said that people who are either entirely for or entirely against affirmative action are failing to consider the details of the debate.

"The extreme answers reflect a failure to think carefully about what's at stake," he said.

And while Edley said he is an optimist at heart, he believes that the path toward integration faces many roadblocks.

"It is very easy for things to be undone," Edley said, referring specifically to California's recently-passed Proposition 209, which bans racial and gender preferences in public hiring, contracting and education.

"We are looking at the possible resegregation of higher education in America," he said.