The Race Exception

Of our nation’s many accomplishments, its triumphs over slavery and Jim Crow have been two of the most important. Through a devastating war, followed by a century of legislative and judicial action, the U.S. put an end to two of its gravest sins. In modern discourse, these triumphs are rightly seen as unimpeachable. Anyone proposing a return to slavery, or celebrating racial segregation, would and should be drummed out of polite society.

This taboo, however, is overapplied. It protects not only the ends of America’s struggle against racism, but also its means. We assume that any measure we undertook to fight racism is inherently good, and that any principle that warns against such a measure is inherently evil.