The US Supreme Court has ruled the affirmative action unconstitutional. With the long-standing practice of “positive discrimination”, attempts were made, especially at universities, to make it easier for Afro-Americans to enter the university.
The U.S. Supreme Court has banned universities from considering skin color when selecting college applicants.
In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court in Washington ruled that the practice known as “affirmative action” was unconstitutional. With this approach, universities had tried for decades to ensure better access for minorities – especially Afro-Americans – to universities.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the verdict that universities have for far too long “concluded that the measure of a person’s identity is not the challenges overcome, the skills developed, or the lessons learned, but the color of their skin”. That is not compatible with the constitution.
Are university applicants of Asian origin disadvantaged?
The ruling concerned lawsuits brought by the student organization Students for Fair Admissions against the private elite university Harvard and the state University of North Carolina (UNC).
The plaintiffs had argued, among other things, that applicants of Asian origin would be disadvantaged by the selection process, which was aimed in particular at Afro-Americans.
Measures dubbed “Affirmative Action” were introduced in the 1960s as part of the US civil rights movement. The aim was to give African Americans better access to good educational institutions after centuries of oppression, discrimination and disadvantage.
“Affirmative Action” has always been controversial
However, such programs were controversial from the start. For example, white university applicants went to court with the argument that they were victims of “reverse discrimination”. Critics also argue that taking skin color into account cements the division of people into different groups and thus divides society.
In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that universities should not use fixed quotas based on skin color when selecting applicants. However, skin color or ethnic origin could be used as one of several criteria to ensure diversity in the student body.
Now the Court of Justice, which has moved politically to the right in recent years, has overturned the principle of “affirmative action” at universities. On the Supreme Court, right-wing conservative judges hold a majority of six of the nine seats.