Debating Affirmative Action: Politics, Media, and Equal Opportunity in a “Postracial” America

Abstract

This article explores how race-conscious education policy is interpreted in the political landscape of a “postracial” America. Based on a qualitative media analysis of the press coverage surrounding Amendment 46, an antiaffirmative action initiative, we examine language, statistics, and messages leveraged by advocates and critics of the ballot measure. We argue that despite using some of the same data sources, terms, and concepts, proponents and opponents of Amendment 46 proposed divergent policies. We analyzed this phenomenon vis-à-vis the framework of conflicting racial projects (Omi & Winant, 1994), moral paradigms of race (Loury, 2002), and interpretations of equality of educational opportunity (Howe, 1997). Arguably, the public's understanding of race-conscious education policies relies in part on opportunities for researchers, journalists, and the public to deliberate about issues related to race. We conclude with some recommendations for fostering more communication and understanding based in deliberative democratic theory (Gutmann & Thompson, 1996, 2004).

Acknowledgments

Heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Lauren P. Saenz for her generous and considerate suggestions. Many thanks to Dr. Margaret Eisenhart and Dr. Daryl Maeda for their insightful feedback. Much appreciation to Darrell D. Jackson, J.D., for his yeomanly contributions to the media content analysis. And thank you to our anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful responses.

Notes

Quote from Vote NO on Amendment 46 outreach materials.

In the Methods section, capitalized text represents codes developed either deductively or inductively.

In future iterations of this study, our work would be strengthened by calculating intercoder agreement to determine the reliability of our use of the coding scheme.