Barack Obama will shatter the ultimate race barrier next week when he’s sworn in as President. Some people argue that this shows our country is becoming color-blind. And they say that means there’s no longer any need for affirmative action policies in things like hiring and college admissions. Even Obama himself says the way we think about affirmative action needs to change.

The future of affirmative action is the theme of a discussion being held at Northwestern Law School Thursday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Arin Reeves is a lawyer and sociologist who advises law firms on diversity issues. And Walter Benn Michaels is a professor of American Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Music Button: Chris Joss, “Shellah V.”, from the CD You’ve Been Spiked, (ESL records)