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A review essay on books by (1) John D. Skrentny, The Ironies of Affirmative Action (IL: U Chicago Press, 1996); & (2) Desmond King, Separate and Unequal (England: Oxford U Press, 1995). These works focus on African American civil rights in the context of employment policy outside & inside the federal government. Both are described as interdisciplinary, informative works that present a more complete picture of affirmative action than previous studies. Skrentny points out the contradictions of the aims of government policies, assesses the color blindness of US society, & documents resistance to affirmative action. Institutional structures are discussed, & an effort is made to link cultural factors to political decisions. King gives a history of federal employment of blacks & shows how government hiring practices actually encouraged segregation. Discrimination in federal prisons, employment, & housing is compared, & a history of segregation, particularly in the military, is presented. Both works are criticized for not justifying or explaining which topics were covered or why, facing the reader with the dilemma of deciding whether the selections are representative. Skrentny's work also lacks any kind of quantitative analysis. Follow-up research on affirmative action is called for. T. Arnold

For a variety of reasons, Australians possess a curious lack of understanding about the gaining of civil rights by indigenous people. These reasons include the lack of a clear civil rights "moment" in Australian history & the negative connotations now associated with civil rights when compared to the more radical indigenous rights. This article explores the reasons for Australia's public amnesia about indigenous people's acquisition of civil rights & makes a case for repositioning this occurrence as a key time in Australian political history. Adapted from the source document.