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Kahlenberg on Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger: Has Affirmative Action FAILED?

  • June 5, 2025
  • Richard D. Kahlenberg

 

Has affirmative action failed in America?? In this eye-opening conversation, Richard Kahlenberg—author of Class Matters and a longtime education and housing policy scholar—explains why race-based affirmative action has failed America’s working class and what can be done to fix it. A self-described “liberal maverick,” Kahlenberg dives into his controversial role in the Supreme Court case against Harvard, arguing that socioeconomic-based admissions would promote both racial equity and fairness without alienating the working-class voters Democrats are rapidly losing. From Harvard’s legacy advantages and billionaire endowments to MLK’s and RFK’s forgotten views on class over race, this episode challenges elite institutions, political orthodoxy, and the future of education in America.

Check out all of Richard’s books and appearances: https://www.richardkahlenberg.org/

Watch the full video.

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