Quotes from Lani Guinier

In a racially divided society, majority rule is not a reliable instrument of democracy.

The emphasis—and money—placed on demonstrating "merit" on applications, rather than on nurturing a student's potential during the college years, results in institutions that lack meaningful race and class diversity.

affirmative action's weakness and vulnerability cooperate with, and perhaps unintentionally legitimate, a meritocracy that privileges test scores over other indicators of student potential in the first place.

Once people have that sense that their voice is being recognized, they then are more willing to move to consensus. Once people feel that their ideas are respected, I think that you will find a move toward cooperation. People are much more conciliatory once they feel they've been respected. That's the threshold we need to get to: the idea of respecting different viewpoints. (from the book The NPR Interviews 1995 edited by Robert Siegel)