Richard D. Kahlenberg (born June 8, 1963) is an American lawyer and writer who has written about a variety of education, labor and housing issues.[1][2]
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The author or editor of 18 books, Richard D. Kahlenberg has been described as “the intellectual father of the economic integration movement”[4] in K–12 education and “arguably the nation’s chief proponent of class-based affirmative action in higher education admissions.”[5] He is also recognized as an authority on housing segregation, teachers’ unions, charter schools, community colleges, and labor organizing.
The New York Times referred to Kahlenberg as “the most prominent self-described progressive with doubts about the current version of affirmative action.”[6] In a profile published by The New Republic, he was described as an “affirmative action prophet” for his long-standing support of class-based affirmative action, an idea that was once considered “a heresy” among liberals, but is now seen as a potential path forward for promoting racial diversity.[7] His 1996 book The Remedy: Class, Race and Affirmative Action was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post.[8] In a review for The New York Times, sociologist William Julius Wilson called it “by far the most comprehensive and thoughtful account thus far for...affirmative action based on class.”[9]
Kahlenberg won the William A. Kaplin Award for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy Scholarship for his research on ways selective colleges can open the doors to more economically disadvantaged students. William G. Bowen and Michael S. McPherson wrote that he “deserves more credit than anyone else for arguing vigorously and relentlessly for stronger efforts to address disparities by socioeconomic status.”[10] He served as an expert witness to the plaintiffs in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.
Class Matters: The Fight to Get Beyond Race Preferences, Reduce Inequality, and Build Real Diversity at America’s Colleges (PublicAffairs Press, 2025);
Excluded: How Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, and Class Bias Build the Walls We Don't See (PublicAffairs Press, 2023);
A Smarter Charter: Finding What Works for Charter Schools and Public Education (with Halley Potter) (Teachers College Press, 2014);
Why Labor Organizing Should Be a Civil Right: Rebuilding a Middle-Class Democracy by Enhancing Worker Voice (with Moshe Marvit) (Century Foundation Press, 2012);
Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race and Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2007);[12]
All Together Now: Creating Middle Class Schools through Public School Choice (Brookings Institution Press, 2001);
The Remedy: Class, Race, and Affirmative Action (Basic Books, 1996); and
Broken Contract: A Memoir of Harvard Law School (Hill & Wang/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992.)[11]
Edited Volumes
Restoring the American Dream: Providing Community Colleges with the Resources They Need – The Report of the Working Group on Community College Financial Resources (Executive Director) (2019)
The Future of Affirmative Action: New Paths to Higher Education Diversity after Fisher v. University of Texas (2014)
Bridging the Higher Education Divide: Strengthening Community Colleges and Restoring the American Dream, Chaired by Anthony Marx and Eduardo Padron (Executive Director) (2013);
The Future of School Integration: Socioeconomic Diversity as an Education Reform Strategy (2012);
Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions (2010);
Rewarding Strivers: Helping Low-Income Students Succeed in College (2010);
Improving on No Child Left Behind: Getting Education Reform Back on Track (2008);
America's Untapped Resource: Low-Income Students in Higher Education (2004);
Public School Choice vs. Private School Vouchers (2003);
Divided We Fail: Coming Together Through Public School Choice. The Report of The Century Foundation Task Force on the Common School, Chaired by Lowell Weicker (Executive Director) (2002);
A Notion at Risk: Preserving Public Education as an Engine for Social Mobility (2000).[11]
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