Alex Zhang (Emory), Racial Integration and Tax Exemption, 6 Am. J.L. & Equal. ___ (MIT Press 2026):

The Trump Administration is transforming American higher education. Among other fiscal levers, the President has threatened, and the Treasury Department is quietly considering, regulations that would revoke universities’ tax exemption for programs benefiting racial minorities. Commentators have decried such actions as an unprecedented assault. But relying on original archival research, this Article shows that the state has used tax exemption as a tool not to advance racial equality, but to stop its progress. It uncovers the fascinating story about a modern research university’s decision to sue the state to win the privilege of desegregation. This historical account provides lessons for both egalitarian advocates and policymakers. It yields two key insights: a fiscal refinement of the influential interest-convergence thesis, as well as the complex relationship among state, tax exemption, and racial equality.

CONCLUSION
This Article relies on original archival research to shed light on racial integration and tax exemption. It details the institutional decisionmaking that led a modern research university to sue the state and its constitutional predication of exempt status on segregation. This historical account yields two key insights: a fiscal refinement of the influential interest-convergence thesis, as well as the complex relationship among state, tax exemption, and racial equality

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