TOWARD A CRITICAL RACE REFORMIST CONCEPTION OF MINIMUM-WAGE REGIMES -EXPLODING THE POWER OF MYTH, FANTASY, AND HIERARCHY

This Article calls for an intense examination of minimum wage regimes in light of the deplorable situation facing many minority low-skilled workers. The author provides a searching mode of analysis drawn from C ritical Race Theory and classical-liberal civil rights scholarship tha t ferrets out any evidence of discriminatory intent, whether explicit or implicit, in the support of minimum wage programs and also uncovers the discriminatory effects of minimum wage laws. Despite he widely he ld belief that minimum wage regimes are a progressive program aimed at helping the disadvantaged, the author concludes, after applying a Cri tical Race reformist perspective, that minimum wage regimes are ill fa ct an abuse of power and that the nation needs to reevaluate its commi tment to minimum wage laws.