Not Only for Myself

by Martha Minow

What rights can individuals claim by virtue of membership in historically oppressed groups? How do these claims conflict with membership in larger communities, such as progressive political movements or the American nation? In her multi-faceted investigation of the thorny legal and social terrain mapped out by these questions, noted scholar Martha Minow offers lawyers and lay readers alike a broader understanding of the legal issues bearing on such incendiary questions as affirmative action, segregation, gay and lesbian rights, racial redistricting, and "identity politics.". Not Only for Myself uses well-known incidents, such as the furor over the casting of Miss Saigon and the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to explain the legal concepts behind court decisions affecting all our lives.