In 1993, shortly after his inauguration, new President Bill Clinton
nominated his old friend and classmate Lani Guinier to the
prestigious and crucial post of Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights.
That nomination sparked an immediate firestorm of criticism from
the right, labeling Professor Guinier the "Quota Queen" and
assailing her for the ideas expressed in her publications, most of
which her opponents had not read, or had taken out of context and
misunderstood.
In the face of this concerted opposition -- what one friend of
Guinier's called "a low-tech lynching" -- Clinton backed down, not
only withdrawing her nomination, but having refused throughout to
give her an opportunity to speak out in her own defense (and his).
The result was a civil rights setback of monumental
proportions.
Now, in this remarkable and important book, at once a memoir and
insider's account of what really happened behind the closed doors
of the Oval Office, the Justice Department, and the U.S. Senate,
and an insightful look at the past, present, and future of civil
rights in America, Lani Guinier at last breaks her silence.
Unsparing of her own mistakes and shrewdly perceptive about the
overt and hidden agendas of those who opposed her, Professor
Guinier shows how the president promptly abandoned his ambitious
agenda for civil rights at the first hint of criticism from the
media and Congress -- and how the civil rights movement suffered a
major setback as a result.
More important, this book, in Professor Guinier's own words, is
about "the battles fought in the belief that our racial history and
our commitment to equality and democracy are essential parts of the
same story. It has not always been a pretty story, nor one that
follows an inevitable path.
"This book is not, however, an effort to settle scores. It's a
story of the efforts of men and women who believe fundamentally in
the promise of the American creed and who act on that belief in
their everyday lives. These are people whose lives are without
notoriety or fame, but in whose willingness to take risks we see
the honor of real heroism."
Above all, Guinier goes on to describe how her experience at the
hands of the press, the White House, and her congressional enemies
has given her both a new voice and a renewed faith in the ongoing
struggle for civil rights. Her book is an extraordinary account of
just how the civil rights movement acquired its strength, drawn
from the courage of "ordinary" people standing up against fearful
odds for what was right, and from the commitment to make change
happen from the bottom up, relying on the wisdom and common sense
of those at grassroots level. Using her own nomination as a
symbolic point of reference, she shows just how weak and divided
the cause of civil rights has become, as its leaders have all too
often been silenced by the very people they should be
challenging.
Finally, she explains, in her own words, the truth about her
political ideas -- which are rooted in "democracy" and its
principles, not in quotas and affirmative action -- and examines
the state of current race relations. Renewing her call for a
national conversation on the issue of civil rights and social
justice, this thought-provoking book is certain to spark a new and
much-needed debate.
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