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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 February 2017
The third section of Nicholas Lemann's book, The Big Test, culminates with the 1997 battle in California over Proposition 209, the antiaffirmative action amendment known as the Civil Rights Initiative. This amendment, which passed, ended racial preferences in state personnel, contracting, and college admissions decisions. This portion of Lemann's book discusses the issues of meritocracy, equal opportunity, and the politics involved in accomplishing these goals. These issues are viewed through the lens of the battle for Proposition 209 and the various individuals—“guardians”—who were beneficiaries of the open meritocracy that allowed them entrance in elite Ivy League institutions.
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