In order to understand the need for affirmative action, legal history should be examined in order to determine if laws passed and practiced throughout history have accomplished their purpose. The legal history of the desegregation of the public schools in America indicates that equality of educational opportunity for all children has been a lie upheld under the "separate but equal doctrine" established by Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896. Even though many anti discrimination laws are currently on the books and there is a movement towards remedial affirmative action, intentional discrimination and systematic discrimination remain widespread. Furthermore, the consequences of years of discrimination in the past still remain. As long as the consequences of past discrimination persist, the necessity to redress the imbalance continues. (Author/AM)