Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Affirmative Action Myth

  • Why Blacks Don't Need Racial Preferences to Succeed
  • By: Jason L Riley
  • Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Affirmative Action Myth

By: Jason L Riley
Pre-order: Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Pre-order Now for £17.69

Pre-order Now for £17.69

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

From Wall Street Journal columnist and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Jason L. Riley, a contrarian argument that racial preferences have done more harm than good for black Americans

After the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the use of race in college admissions was unconstitutional, many predicted that the black middle class was doomed. One byproduct of a half century of affirmative action is that it has given people the impression that blacks can’t advance without special treatment. In The Affirmative Action Myth, Jason L. Riley details the neglected history of black achievement without government intervention. Using empirical data, Riley shows how black families lifted themselves out of poverty prior to the racial preference policies of the 1960s and 1970s.

Black employment, incomes, homeownership, and educational attainment all were on the rise in the first two-thirds of the twentieth century and began to stagnate only after affirmative action became the law of the land, tainting black achievement with suspicions of unfair advantage. Countering thinkers who blame white supremacy and systemic racism for today’s racial gaps, Riley offers a more optimistic story of black success without racial favoritism.

©2025 Jason L Riley (P)2025 Basic Books
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Affirmative Action Myth

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.