"In both Bakke and Robinson[a case about whether racial minorities should be allowed the same public accommodations i.e. train cars, hotels,etc as whites] the persons who benefited from federal protection were upwardly mobile racial minorities who were accused of benefiting from reverse discrimination policies. [Robinson case: a black woman and her white husband sit in the railway's 1st class whites only section] White passengers reacted by charging that these people were polluting their social space. In Bakke, the question of space once again surfaced: the case dealt with the allegedly unconstitutional nature of reserving space for racial minorities aspiring to become medical doctors. Interestingly, both cases dealt with White reactions against minorities who trespassed racially defined boundaries when they proactively attempted to enjoy the social priviledges reserved for upwardly mobile[i.e. not poor whites, so it makes no sense for them to complain about black folk] Whites."
- Recovering History, Constructing Race. p 294-295.

This book in this chapter also has great points on how Mexicans were segregrated based on language, and the gains of women, but I probably should actually return this book to the library. Oh, yea, I forgot about how they wouldn't naturalize Mexicians- the US's immigration policies sure were fucked up.