The Court has said throughout, and in the intervening decades, that the point of affirmative action is not to repair the injustices that Blacks and other minorities have suffered in our nation’s history through slavery, Jim Crow, and systemic racism. Can you remind us, Adam, of the legal history behind all of this? adam liptakĪffirmative action in higher education has been justified since 1978 on what may surprise people, on a ground, a justification that maybe not the most obvious one. So, this is a big deal, undoing decades of precedent.
And the case has essentially charged that affirmative action was discriminatory, and went after it on the grounds that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. And in particular at Harvard, they made the case that Asian-American students were subject to negative treatment by the admissions programs at that elite institution. It was brought by a group called Students for Fair Admissions, which says it represents students who were disadvantaged by the admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. At the same time, the Court did leave open some ability sometimes for college and university admissions personnel to take account of race, at least in admissions essays. And this is a major rejection of decades of important precedents. They wrote more than 200 pages, six different Justices wrote opinions. The six Republican appointees in the majority, the three Democratic appointees in dissent.Īn enormous decision both in its scope and even in its physical manifestation. And the Court acted as we’ve seen many times, in a classic 6-3 divide. The Supreme Court rejected affirmative action in higher education, or more precisely, it said that race-conscious admissions programs were unlawful. This decision today is one of the biggest in years. Today, our colleague Adam Liptak on that ruling and what it means for American society.Īdam, it’s been another blockbuster term for the Supreme Court. Colleges and universities in America will no longer be able to use race as a factor in their admissions process. The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned decades of precedent by striking down affirmative action. katrin bennholdįrom “The New York Times,” I’m Katrin Bennhold, and this is “The Daily“. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email with any questions.
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Transcript The Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action The decision sharply curtails a policy that has long been a pillar of American higher education.
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