When Affirmative Action Was White — How Policy Built Unequal Opportunity

Crisis in Perception · Aug 19, 2026 · 37m

Some of America’s most important social programs helped millions build economic security. But their benefits did not pass through a neutral institutional landscape.

Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world.

Using When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson as our lens, this investigation examines how New Deal, wartime, and postwar policies contributed to the construction of a predominantly white middle class while leaving many African Americans with substantially less access to…