The nation will say a final farewell to Colin Powell on Nov. 5. A child of immigrants, Powell often spoke about America's opportunities for upward mobility. Unknown to most Americans, however, is how this ultimate insider personally intervened in an effort to shape the nation's law around affirmative action.

In early 2003, challenges to the University of Michigan's efforts to boost minority enrollment in its undergraduate and law school programs reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The Bush administration filed briefs supporting the challengers. Powell, then the U.S. secretary of state, disagreed, asserting in press interviews that "race should be a factor among many other factors in determining the makeup of a student body of a university."