The current United States Supreme Court has to be one of the most outrageous and staunchly Republican-leaning bodies in our nation’s history. On Thursday, June 29, 2023, The Supreme Court made a devastating ruling against Affirmative Action. President Joe Biden called on colleges to evaluate “adversity overcome” by applicants after the Supreme Court set new limits on affirmative action programs in cases involving whether public and private colleges and universities can continue to use race as one factor among many in student admissions.
In an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court held that Harvard and UNC’s admissions programs violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The vote was 6-3 in the UNC case and 6-2 in the Harvard case due to the recusal of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson had served on the board of overseers at Harvard, where she earned her undergraduate and law degrees.
President Joe Biden called the decision against Affirmative Action a severe disappointment. Biden said he firmly disagrees with this ruling that overturns decades of precedent, just the latest example, the President said, of this conservative majority Supreme Court overturning precedent. President Biden added that this ruling doesn’t mean that racial discrimination doesn’t exist in this country. He said this shouldn’t end efforts, including by colleges and universities trying to expand opportunities and build out more diverse classes.
President Biden commented, “We cannot allow this decision to be the last word. While the court can render a decision, it cannot change what America stands for. America is an idea. It is an idea of hope and opportunity and possibilities. We’re supposed to give everyone a fair shot and leave none behind.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a 29-page dissent against the Affirmative Action decision. It was dedicated to explaining the universal benefits of considering race in higher education. Arguing that such considerations are important due to the intergenerational transmission of inequality that originated with slavery and continued through subsequent government policies in the decades since then. Jackson went on to say, “Given our history, the origins of persistent race-linked gaps should be no mystery. History speaks, and in some forms, it can be heard forever. The race-based gaps that first developed centuries ago-are echoes from the past that still exists today.”
Here’s a bit of what sell-out Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had to say about the ruling, which he supported wholeheartedly. “While I am painfully aware of the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race and all who suffer discrimination, I hold out enduring hope that this country will live up to its principles, that all men are created equal, are equal citizens, and must be treated equally before the law.”
I, Thera Martin, say those words sound very nice Justice Clarence; however, I do not believe them to be true.
Justice John Roberts, who led the charge on dis- mantling Affirmative Action, stated, “The Equal Protection guarantee in the Constitution does not allow classifications based on race. For better or for worse, obviously, Affirmative Action programs are the kinds of programs that have helped Hispanics and Blacks get a leg up, so to speak.” Justice Roberts said in the past, maybe this was allowed, but there are time limits to it. He further stated, “Because Harvard and UNC’s admissions programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial
stereotyping, and lack meaningful endpoints–those ad- missions programs cannot be reconciled with a guaranteed equal protection ,…
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