WXMI — On Thursday, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, ruling that colleges and universities can no longer consider a person’s race as grounds for admission, nearly fifteen years after Michigan tried to enact a statewide ban on the same practice.
With its latest case, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, the justices ruled that admissions policies at both Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The ruling was split 6 to 3.
In his majority opinionfor the case, Chief Justice John Roberts writes “the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual- not on the basis of race.”
Roberts then adds, “our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
Justice Sonya Sotomayor, however, wrote in dissent. “This court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress.”
“The court cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principal in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter,” Sotomayor also wrote.
Affirmative action dates back to 1961, when President John F. Kennedy used the term in an executive order, and in the past, the state of Michigan has already seen its share of legal battles over the practice.
In 2003,the Supreme Court upheld the University of Michigan Law School’s “narrowly tailored use of race in admissions” in the case Grutter V. Bollinger, allowing universities to consider race in admissions to ensure diversity in higher education.
But three years later Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment that banned affirmative action across the state with 2006’s Proposal 2. The amendment was later upheld by the Supreme Court in 2014.
Twenty years after Grutter V. Bollinger, the latest ruling from the Supreme Court overrules that precedent, according to Justice Clarence Thomas.
"The Court’s opinion rightly makes clear that Grutter is, for all intents and purposes, overruled. And, it sees the universities’ admissions policies for what they are: rudderless, race-based preferences designed to ensure a particular racial mix in their entering classes. Those policies fly in the face of our colorblind Constitution and our Nation’s equality ideal. In short, they are plainly—and boldly—unconstitutional."
Recent data reveals a more negative public opinion of affirmative action.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, over 50% of people disapprove of colleges considering race and ethnicity to increase diversity at schools.
Specifically, the study shows 29% of African-Americans, 39% of Hispanic Americans, 52% of Asian Americans and 57% of white Americans disapprove.
Nonetheless, the data also indicates the ban on affirmative action hinders diversity at higher education institutes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says African-American enrollment dropped 33% at the University of Michigan between 2006 and 2012.
Supporters of affirmative action argue it diversifies college campuses while also providing minority students equitable access to higher education.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action, President Biden spoke out in support of diversity. “We need to keep open a door of opportunities. We need to remember that diversity is our strength, we have to find a way forward, we need to remember that the promise of America is big enough for everyone to succeed.”
READ MORE: NAACP Grand Rapids calls SCOTUS decision on Affirmative Action 'devastating'
