The Supreme Court upheld affirmative action Thursday in Fisher v. University of Texas. Conservatives generally oppose affirmative action, but you might think black conservatives would buck that and support using race as a factor in college admissions.
That’s not the case.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Horace Cooper, an attorney and formerly a faculty member at the George Mason University School of Law. “Once again the Supreme Court had the chance to banish the role of race in school admissions. In this case with no showing of bias or race-based hostility and with the option of a very workable race-neutral admissions alternative, the Supreme Court chose to allow schools to use the race of a college applicant as a relevant selection criteria.”
Stacy Washington, who hosts a radio show in St. Louis, said she wants less of a focus on the affirmative action debate. “Academic set asides actually diminish a black student’s chance of graduating from college; by placing them in environments that they are ill-prepared to be a part of,” Washington said in a press release from The National Center for Public Policy Research. “Instead of looking at forcing students into elite universities, let’s address the root issue, low academic performance.” Washington said there should be more of an emphasis on parenting techniques, like ensuring parents are speaking to their children in early childhood ages.
Project 21’s Darryn Martin said the decision will call into question future academic achievements of black students. “By upholding the use of race in college admissions, the United States Supreme Court has once again made it impossible for aspiring non-white students to succeed on their own academic merits without there being a ‘question mark’ attached to them,” Martin said. “Racial preferences will forever represent a dark cloud over the heads of every minority student, no matter how academically conscientious and hard-working, who wants to be taken seriously based on his or her individual accomplishments and work ethic alone.”
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
