Derrick Bell's toolkit - Fit to dismantle that famous house?

Does United States antidiscrimination law embrace a black/white binary para digm of race, in which other, nonblack minority groups must compare their t reatment to that of African Americans in order to gain redress? In this Der rick Bell Lecture, Professor Richard Delgado argues that it does, and that other minorities also fall from time to time into the trap of exceptionalis m, placing their own experiences at the center of discussion. Taking as his text a recent chronicle by Derrick Bell, Bluebeard's Castle, Professor Del gado argues that narrow binary thinking-regardless of the group that engage s in it-weakens solidarity, reduces opportunities for coalition, deprives o ne group of the benefits of the others' experiences, makes one overly depen dent on the approval of the white establishment, and sets one up for ultima te disappointment. The black/white binary, in short, is bad for blacks, jus t as her foolish fixation on the gloomy noble of operatic fame finally doom ed Judith, the heroine of Bluebeard's Castle.