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affirmative action

(Encyclopedia)affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women....

action

(Encyclopedia)action, in law: see procedure.

direct action

(Encyclopedia)direct action, theory and methods used by certain labor groups to fight employers, capitalist institutions, and the state by direct economic action, without using intermediate organizations. Political...

class action

(Encyclopedia)class action, in law, a device that permits one or more persons to sue or be sued as representative of a large group of people interested in the matter at issue. The court in whose jurisdiction a suit...

action painting

(Encyclopedia)action painting: see abstract expressionism. ...

political action committee

(Encyclopedia)political action committee (PAC), U.S. organization formed by a corporation, labor union, or association to raise money for political activity. Funds can be gathered by voluntary contributions from me...

Jackson, Maynard Holbrook, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Maynard Holbrook, Jr., 1938–2003, American politician, b. Dallas, Tex., grad. Morehouse College (B.A., 1956), North Carolina Central Univ. (J.D., 1964). Jackson, a Democratic lawyer with a ...

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

(Encyclopedia)Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, case decided in 1978 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court held in a closely divided decision that race could be one of the factors considered in choos...

Bollinger, Lee C.

(Encyclopedia)Bollinger, Lee C., 1947–, American educator, b. Santa Rosa, Calif., grad. Univ. of Oregon (B.A.), Columbia (M.A.; LL.B.). He joined the faculty of the Univ. of Michigan Law School in 1973 and later ...

Rudenstine, Neil Leon

(Encyclopedia)Rudenstine, Neil Leon ro͞oˈdənstīnˌ [key], 1935–, American scholar, educator, and administrator, b. Ossining, N.Y., grad. Princeton (B.A., 1956), Oxford (Rhodes scholar; B.A., 1959; M.A., 1963)...