By Demetrius Dillard
Once again, it seems that history has repeated itself.
Or at least things may be heading in that direction with the latest high-profile ruling by the nation’s most prominent justices. A Supreme Court ruling on July 29 that struck down affirmative action in the college admissions process has virtually set the nation ablaze.
The momentous decision declared that race can no longer be a factor, thereby forcing institutions of higher education to resort to alternative methods of achieving diverse student bodies.
The news follows another measure by the Supreme Court that blocked President Joe Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness plan. The two decisions will likely mark a major turning point in American history, having an adverse effect on minority students and families.
More specifically, the rulings will have far more weighty repercussions on Black students, given the collective economic condition of Black America.
Initiated by the administration of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, affirmative action policies were officially instituted under the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Johnson’s Executive Order 11246 in 1965.
Used as an active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for minorities, affirmative action began as a governmental remedy to the deleterious effects of long-standing discrimination.
Long-existing discriminatory policies, programs and procedures — like aptitude tests and the like — that gave limited preferences to minorities and women in job hiring, admission to institutions of higher education, and other social benefits like the awarding of government contracts, is what prompted affirmative action legislation in the 1960s.
The Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling has become the latest subject of contention among the nation’s top legal professionals, political figures and academic leaders, while drawing ongoing criticism from countless anti-discrimination advocates.
According to Associated Press writer Mark Sherman, this decision, similar to last year’s abortion ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, “marked the realization of a long-sought conservative legal goal.”
Based on the opinion of at least six of the Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, the nullification of affirmative action effectively found that “race-conscious admissions plans violate the Constitution and a law that applies to colleges that receive federal funding,” an AP report notes.
Roberts, the subject of strict scrutiny over the past several days, said that for too long universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
As expected, Justice Clarence Thomas expressed similar sentiments as Roberts, in stark opposition to Biden and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s first Black female justice, who regarded the ruling “truly a tragedy for us all.”
“With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life,” she wrote.
Presidents and chancellors of numerous colleges issued statements shortly after the ruling made national headlines. Despite the court’s decision, many academic leaders still affirmed their commitment to diversity.
Anthony L. Jenkins is the president of Coppin State University, an HBCU in West Baltimore. Jenkins, in concurrence with a number of other top administrators at Black colleges, expressed the impact the ruling will have on minority students. The ruling undermines the importance of diversity and the role it has played in higher education, he said.
“The Court’s ruling will have a range of short and long-term consequences, including a chilling effect on campuses where students of color and students from underrepresented backgrounds question whether they belong, are accepted, and are valued,” he said in a statement released July 29.
“This may also lead faculty and staff to rethink where they choose to share their expertise and advance the groundbreaking research that has made the United States a leader in innovation for nearly a century.”
Jenkins went on to assure the campus community that Coppin State remains “committed to educating scholars of all backgrounds.” The student body’s diversity is what strengthens the school’s ability to transform and prepare leaders for tomorrow, he continued.
“This decision will erode many of the gains we have made as a global educational and economic leader. Our hope is that today’s ruling does not deter diverse students from pursuing their educational dreams at any institution of their choice,” Jenkins said.
“Their intellect and creativity are important and greatly needed across the entire landscape of higher education. Institutions of higher education should serve as inclusive places where important life-changing issues can be discussed, and solutions can be created by diverse minds. They should not be places where those conversations are silenced.”
Taking a rather nuanced position on the Supreme Court decision, Black scholar Dr. Umar Johnson sent a spirited message to HBCU leaders. “The HBCU will benefit from this, but the Black community will still be hurt by this,” Johnson said in a June 30 YouTube video.
“The HBCU will benefit from the overturning of affirmative action because it will reinstate separate-but-equal on the college campus… that means applications for HBCUs are going to go through the roof. That means HBCUs are going to start getting money from Black students.”
Though HBCUs may see an uptick in applications, and by virtue, more funding, from Black students, Johnson identified potential problems, two of which were: (1) Programs may be created at PWIs that will not be offered at HBCUs, leading to Black students being systematically obstructed from certain degrees and job opportunities and (2) The job market may discriminate against HBCU graduates as a way to control the amount of Blacks educated at Black colleges. HBCUs must be prepared for what’s coming, Johnson said, urging HBCU presidents and administrators. “HBCUs need to get ready,” he said, adding that HBCUs must stop catering to non-Black children.
“There should be an all-HBCU conference so they could plan and strategize how they are going to respond to the Supreme Court decision because this could be a great day for Black America, or it could be a sad day for Black America.
“You know who ultimately decides if the affirmative action case… is a good thing or a bad thing? The HBCU. It’s all up to the Historically Black College and University.”
This is pivotal for HBCUs. We are going to need to see a strong message and plan forward from our universities. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but we need to plan for next.