By Kristen Hernandez
Washington, D. C. — In a landmark ruling, the United States Supreme Court overturned a long-standing precedent that has benefited minorities like African American, Latino, and Asian Americans in higher education admissions throughout the nation. The ending of affirmative action practices that have been in place since 1965 will make it practically impossible for colleges and universities to take race into account.
The Supreme Court isn’t overturning prior cases authorizing affirmative action, and suggested how race has affected an applicant can still be considered. The first Latina Justice on the Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the “conservative majority made a profound mistake”.
“It will close the doors of opportunity to people across the nation for schools, for business, for the military; it will have reverberation. We shall overcome,” Sotomayor said.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first female Black Justice, accused the majority of having a “let them eat cake obliviousness” in how the Court’s affirmative action ruling announced “colorblindness for all” by legal fiat.
“But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life,” Justice Jackson added.
Jackson wrote in her dissent of Thursday’s ruling that the majority had “detached itself from this country’s actual past and present experiences” and that “no one benefits from ignorance”. Jackson also wrote “the argument made by the challengers that affirmative action programs are unfair, and blinks both history and reality in ways too numerous to count.”
In her dissent footnote, Jackson directed blistering remarks at the only other Black Justice on the Court, Justice Clarance Thomas, who voted in favor of the ruling although he benefitted from affirmative action during his admission to Yale Law School. “His opinion also demonstrates an obsession with race consciousness that far outstrips my or UNC’s holistic understanding that race can be a factor that affects applicants unique life experiences.”
In his book, My Grandfather’s Son, Thomas wrote “Once it is assumed that everything you do achieve is because of your race, there is no way out. In everything now that someone like me does, there’s a backwash into your whole life is because of race.”
House speaker, Kevin McCarthy tweeted his support saying, “The Supreme Court just ruled that no American should be denied educational opportunity because of race. Now students will be able to compete based on equal standards and individual merit. This will make the college admissions process fairer and uphold equality under the law.”
President Joe Biden condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling by saying, “This is not a normal court.” On Twitter, Biden stated, “For decades, the Supreme Court recognized a college’s freedom to decide how to build a diverse student body and provide opportunity. Today, the Court walked away from precedent, effectively ending affirmative action in higher education. I strongly disagree with this decision.”
Former President Barak Obama had strong remarks, tweeting, “Affirmative action was never a complete answer in the drive towards a more just society. But for generations of students who have been
systematically excluded from most of America’s key institutions — it gave us a chance to show we more than deserve a seat at the table. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, it’s time to redouble our efforts.”
Michelle Obama, former first lady, also had strong feelings about the Court’s ruling, and shared a personal letter of her experiences as a black woman pursuing higher education.
During the historic proceedings, the weight of history was evident in the chamber. Voters still have ways to have their voices heard, not just at the ballot box, but through letters to local state representatives. It’s too soon to see the trickle effect such a monumental decision will have, but it remains certain the effects will be felt throughout our younger generation’s future.
