Cutting the Cards

The last few days have brought a whirlwind of comments about how former Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan’s record on tenured and tenure-track faculty hiring of women and people of color may reflect a lack of commitment to racial and gender equality. As I stated earlier, I have been encouraged by the supportive statements from professors who know Kagan well and whom I know to have a strong commitment to racial and gender equality themselves.

Though I am encouraged, I am not entirely persuaded just yet. No matter how hard I try to convince myself, I keep coming back to this one saying, which has meaning beyond just the ordinary poker game: “Trust everyone, but cut the cards.”

You see, it’s not that I do not trust people like Professor Charles Ogletree or Professor Randall Kennedy. I mean, how could I not trust them? They are two of my very own heroes! Believe me, I trust them, but I have to admit that it’s hard for me to fully trust, without more of a paper record, that Solicitor General Kagan will become the next Thurgood Marshall (or even somewhere in that vicinity) on legal issues that concern racial and gender equality. Let me explain why—why I find it necessary to play it safe and cut the cards.