Randall Kennedy

Many racial and ethnic minorities express pride in their culture and claim that they feel more loyal toward members of their own race than with others. In the following viewpoint, Harvard Law School professor Randall Kennedy contests this view of racial pride. Kennedy maintains that one’s individual qualities and accomplishments—not one’s skin color or physical features—should be the object of pride. Kennedy, who is black, writes that he feels a kinship with all those who have fought for racial justice. However, he does not believe that he should limit this gratitude to other courageous blacks, since many whites also participated in the civil rights struggle. He argues that loyalties and affiliations should be based on deeds, not inherited features.

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