The son of a Mexican-American father who immigrated to the United States by himself at the age of 15, Delgado grew up in a migratory household and attended public schools as a child. He earned an A.B. in philosophy and mathematics at the University of Washington, and then attended the UC-Berkeley School of Law, where he earned a J.D. and served as an editor of the California Law Review.
Delgado is an amateur cloud-watcher, retired track athlete, and fiction writer.
Selected bibliography
Books
Delgado, Richard; Lederer, Laura (1995). The Price we pay: the case against racist speech, hate propaganda, and pornography. New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN978-0-80901577-1.
——— (1996). The coming race war?: and other apocalyptic tales of America after affirmative action and welfare. New York: New York University Press. ISBN978-0-81471877-3.
———; Stefancic, Jean (1997). Must we defend Nazis? hate speech, pornography, and the new First Amendment. New York: New York University Press. ISBN978-0-58534679-3.
———; ——— (1997). Critical white studies: looking behind the mirror. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN978-1-56639532-8.
———; Harris, Angela P.; Stefancic, Jean; Perea, Juan F.; Wildman, Stephanie M. (2000). Race and races: cases and resources for a diverse America (2nd ed.). St. Paul, MN: West Group. ISBN978-0-31422709-6.
———; Stefancic, Jean (2004). Understanding words that wound. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN978-0-81334139-2.
——— (2005). Justice at war: civil liberties and civil rights during times of crisis. New York City, NY: New York University Press. ISBN9780814719565.