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The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action programs in two cases presented before it, leading to a torrent of outrage over the unprecedented actions.
On Thursday (June 29th), the Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 decision ruling that the affirmative action policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard University were unconstitutional. The verdicts dealt a blow to five decades’ worth of efforts to boost more diversity through programs taking applicants’ race into account when applying to colleges and universities nationwide for decades. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the programs “unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful endpoints.”
Justice Clarence Thomas, the Black conservative who sided with the majority including Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Comey Barrett, and Samuel Alito, wrote in his concurring opinion that the policies “fly in the face of our colorblind Constitution. He continued: “Despite the extensive evidence favoring the colorblind view, as detailed above, it appears increasingly in vogue to embrace an ‘antisubordination’ view of the 14th Amendment: that the Amendment forbids only laws that hurt, but not help, Blacks,” Justice Thomas wrote. “Such a theory lacks any basis in the original meaning of the 14th Amendment.”
The decision caused immediate backlash and concern from those opposed to the decision. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who had recused herself from the Harvard case as she served on their Board of Overseers prior to her SCOTUS appointment, wrote a blistering and incisive dissenting opinion aimed at Thomas and Roberts’ opinions. “With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat,” she wrote, “But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”
As the news sunk in, more reactions including that of President Joe Biden came forth condemning the ruling and expressing the effects it will have in the future. Here’s a selection of the more prominent.
1. Michael Eric Dyson
The esteemed professor and author took the conservative Thomas to task, noting his own rise to the court through affirmative action and calling his role in the verdict “a withering betrayal of justice & democracy.”
2. uché blackstock, md
Well-known for her efforts to boost diversity in medical schools and her work to get more attention paid to Black communities by the medical industry, Dr. Blackstock pointed out how the decision will affect applicants from the community going forward.
3. Michael Harriot
Writer and contributor to The Grio, Harriot reminds readers who will truly benefit from the decisions handed down.
4. Deepa Iyer
The author and activist highlights the dissenting opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
5. Olivia Truffaut-Wong
The journalist observes with dismay how Asian students who took part in the lawsuit leading to these cases brought before the Supreme Court unwittingly played into white supremacy.
6. Nikole Hannah-Jones
The creator behind The 1619 Project mused about how this decision falls in line with the worst of American history.
7. Joyce Vance
The former federal prosecutor under the Obama presidential administration called attention to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissenting opinion, particularly the opening.
8. Melissa Murray
The New York University law professor highlights another part of Justice Sotomayor’s dissent, and explains how she pointed to the court’s conservative majority being so eager to overturn precedent.
9. Barack Obama
Former President Barack Obama weighs in and amplifies former First Lady Michelle Obama’s statement.
