In as much as this is a holiday week, I would normally repost a previous edition of “Break It Down.” However, since time and attention to issues shifts swiftly, and since the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) rendered another momentous decision Thursday, June 29, 2023, striking down affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor and forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies, I am opting to take a swing at weighing in on the matter today. Who knows what the compelling news of the day will be this time next week?
How did we get here?
Forty-five years and one day earlier, (June 28, 1978), SCOTUS ruled on the Bakke Case, finding that affirmative action was constitutional, while invalidating the use of racial quotas as part of the process. Allan Bakke, a 30-year-old engineer, and former marine had been twice rejected for entry in medical school at the University of California, Davis, (UC-Davis), at least in part, due to his age. After his second rejection, he filed suit against UC-Davis, challenging the constitutionality of the school’s affirmative action program.
The California Supreme Court struck down the program as violating the rights of Whites, and ordered Bakke admitted. Inevitably, UC-Davis appealed, and the case was heard by SCOTUS, where the California Court’s ruling was overturned with conditions; namely that racial quotas could no longer be used. Just as with Roe vs. Wade, which preceded Bakke by 5 years, opponents of the Bakke ruling had been fighting since the day of the case became law, to get it overturned.
Since that time, the SCOTUS twice upheld race-conscious college admissions programs, including as recently as 2016. Of course, that was prior to the arrival of the three Trump appointees, all of whom voted to end the program. At arguments in late October, all six conservative justices expressed doubts about the practice.
The petitioner in this case, Students for Fair Admission (SFFA), a nonprofit organization describes its stated purpose as, “to defend human and civil rights secured by law, including the right of individuals to equal protection under the law.” They were also the petitioner in the 2016 case. That case, which failed to prevail, included White and Asian students. In the current case, with only Asian students, SFFA filed separate lawsuits against Harvard and UNC, arguing that their race-based admissions programs violate, respectively, Title Nine of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. On Thursday, SCOTUS held: Harvard’s and UNC’s admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
This ruling is an example of relentless persistence. I’m reminded of the Jim Valvano ESPN Speech, when imploring folks to fight the good fight for cancer research, he proclaimed, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” Broadly speaking, opponents of affirmative action, like those of abortion last year, never did. Their conviction, similarly, resulted in another hard-fought, long sought after victory. This is where I note how the advocates of both abortion and affirmative action let their self-satisfaction, and their high-minded principals get in the way of maintaining their ultimate objective. First, Democrats and liberals stayed home in midterm elections during Obama’s tenure. This voting malpractice enabled the GOP to retake the House of Representatives, and then the Senate. Result: McConnell denies Obama a 3rd SCOTUS pick.
Then, in 2016, the uber so-called woke crowd, determined that Hillary Clinton was merely Trump in a dress, or a pantsuit, and was fundamentally, no better candidate. Result: Donald Trump is elected POTUS, and then appoints 3 rightwing Justices to the SCOTUS. Voila, good-bye abortion rights last year, and affirmative action last week. Next? “Adios Affirmative Action: That’s How The Long Game Is Played!”
I’m done; holla back!
Read my blog anytime by clicking the links: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or /http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.
A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65886212#
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf
http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2023/07/adios-affirmative-action-thats-how-long.html
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