Alchemy is defined as the process of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary, sometimes in a way that cannot be explained. An example of using alchemy is a person who takes a pile of scrap metal and turns it into beautiful art.
“Williams is an original and imaginative mind, an unstultified, insubordinate thinker who jumps off cliffs and lands on her feet, who flies close to the sun and never melts her wings. She accomplishes the near impossible: simultaneous depth of engagement in law and world. The alchemical forge she theorizes between race and rights parallels her own method: ‘the making of something out of nothing.’ See what she makes out of sausage, polar bears, Beethoven. See if you can ever shop at Benetton’s again.”—Catharine A. MacKinnon, University of Michigan Law School
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OMG! I LOVED this book! I read around 1990-91, when I was working as Dep. Director of the very first Disparity Study ever conducted in the U.S. – in New Jersey – post Croson v City of Richmond. The Supreme Court had determined that any locality other than the US Govt would have to PROVE that Black businesses – and other “minority” group (including women) – had been discriminated against in the purchasing process, before they could be authorized to create a Goals program. Williams’ book offered extraordinary insight for arguments to be made in support of goal-setting. Not only is she an amazing legal mind, she is also an exceptional writer. Not to mention, we share our undergrad alma mater! (Wellesley College)
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