Leading US civil rights organizations on Thursday condemned the conservative-dominated Supreme Court for ending affirmative action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, and a major group accused the high court of backing down. the clock in the history of the nation’s racial progress.
In a pair of rulings, the court’s conservative majority struck down programs at two of the country’s oldest institutions of higher learning. But the judges did not rule out race entirely in admissions programs, writing in part that nothing “prohibits universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life.”
“Today, the Supreme Court bowed to the personal beliefs of an extremist minority. We will not allow hateful people in power to turn back the clock and undermine our hard-won victories. Tricks from the dark past of Israel will not be tolerated. United States., NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said. in a sentence.
“Race plays an undeniable role in shaping African-American identities and quality of life. In a society still scarred by the wounds of racial disparities, the Supreme Court has shown willful ignorance of our reality. The NAACP does not will not be deterred or silenced in our fight to hold leaders and institutions accountable for their role in embracing diversity no matter what,” he added in part.
Johnson said another NAACP official would lead a group of students and activists in a “mobilization” on the steps of the Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon.
The Reverend Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network, said in a statement that the Supreme Court “put a dagger in the back of Black America.” Sharpton, who hosts a weekend news show on MSNBC, defended race-conscious admissions policies as a bulwark against centuries of racial injustice and social inequality.
“Affirmative action was a commonly adopted policy because it served as a check on an admissions process that had been plagued by racism, nepotism and favoritism for generations,” Sharpton said. “The reality is that race plays a factor in admissions, from pre-K to post-doctorate, and institutions have just seen their best tool for equity banned.”
The National Urban League, one of the largest civil rights organizations in the US, tweeted a picture containing a message in all caps on a red background: “A historic day for all the wrong reasons.”
The swift and forceful statements by prominent civil rights leaders suggest they have been preparing for a ruling that would effectively condemn race-conscious admissions to colleges and universities across the country. In oral arguments in late October, conservative members of the court appeared to express deep skepticism about the practice.
The Supreme Court has endorsed affirmative action programs dating back to 1978, with the decision in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.
In that case, a white man named Allan Bakke sued after he was twice rejected from the University of California, Davis medical school. The agreed court agreed that Bakke had been discriminated against when the school decided to reserve 16 seats for minority students, but the judges allowed the use of race as a factor in the holistic admissions process.
Obamas, Congressional leaders weigh in
The reaction from elected officials was largely divided along party lines, with Democrats attacking the court and Republicans praising the ruling. In a sentenceSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., criticized the court for putting “a giant roadblock in America’s march toward racial justice.”
In a joint statement, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama expressed disappointment over the two Supreme Court decisions. The former first lady wrote in personal terms about the “new scales of opportunity” brought by race-conscious admissions and greater diversity on campuses.
“Today, my heart breaks for any young person wondering what the future holds and what kind of opportunities will open up for them,” he said. “And while I know the strength and courage that lies within children who have always had to sweat a little more to climb the same stairs, I hope and pray that the rest of us are willing to break a sweat as well.”
In a shorter statement, the former president acknowledged that, as a policy, “affirmative action wasn’t perfect. But it allowed generations of students like Michelle and I to show that we belonged. Now it’s up to all of us to give young people the opportunities they deserve.” and help students around the world benefit from new perspectives.”
In an NBC News poll in April, a slim majority of Americans said affirmative action programs were still needed to “counter the effects of discrimination … as long as there are no hard quotas.” Forty-two percent said that “affirmative action programs have gone too far in favoring minorities and should be ended because they unfairly discriminate against white and Asian Americans.”
