In a 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion claims affirmative action represents racial stereotyping that violates the Constitution. It’s an argument that Berkshire NAACP Chapter President Dennis Powell doesn’t buy.
“I don't think he even understands that when the Constitution was written, it was written during slavery," he told WAMC. "There was no equality and justice for all people, so the Constitution did not include all people. This is why the affirmative action is so important.”
Powell says the argument is a willful distortion of America’s long history of systemic racism and engrained discrimination.
“Truly the color of your skin in this country is a factor," he said. "I don't care what anybody says. It’s a factor, and will continue to be a factor until we the people make that change.”
Berkshire Community College President Ellen Kennedy described the news as heartbreaking, and said it reaffirmed the public institution’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“We witness on a daily basis the importance of the diverse thought, the diversity in so many ways that represents the students in our classrooms, from gender and race and socio-economic," she told WAMC. "And now you're taking, in some ways, the shortest and widest path to leadership, power, resources, shaping the research that we as a nation will pursue that really comes from the elite or selective institutions, the colleges and universities in the country, and you're removing that kind of diversity, that kind of opportunity to see things with a different lens, to look at the world in different ways. And it's just crushing to me that this will be a multi-generational impact that will shape this country in such important, and in my eye, very crushing ways.”
Maud Mandel, president of Williamstown-based Williams College, released a statement saying that the private school remains dedicated to supporting racial diversity, and that it is “committed to modifying our processes as necessary to continue seeking and supporting a diverse, vibrant and exceptional learning community within the new legal context.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said it was a dark day for democracy and equality.
“To make the presumption that today in 2023, that our country is colorblind is incorrect," she said. "That is not the norm for people in America today. And I've been in contact with our SUNY Chancellor, John King, who will be assessing their policies, but assures us that they'll be considering many factors to understand that diversity is an important part of who we are. We celebrate this in the state of New York, and want to make sure that our educational institutions, the ladder to opportunity for millions of New Yorkers remains open to all. So, we are very disappointed in this decision, not unexpected given the political composition of the Supreme Court today. But that being said, we go forth recommitted to ensuring that New York remains a place where we celebrate diversity, inclusion, and we're going to continue to subscribe to those principles regardless of the decisions made by the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Fellow Democrat Ed Markey, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, said the ruling shows the need to expand the size of the court.
“Just one year after the Dodds decision stole the constitutional right to abortion, we stand here facing yet another decision by far-right Supreme Court justices that show us clearly that they do not stand with the American people," he said. "As Chief Justice Warren said in Brown versus Board of Education, that education is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. Yet today, the Supreme Court made it harder to achieve education on equal terms in the United States of America. They made it harder for Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian American, and Pacific Islanders to achieve their dream of attending one of the many prestigious colleges that we have here in Massachusetts and across our country. This extremist court has made the United States a more unequal place than it already was and betrayed their responsibility to protect the rights of every American and their dreams for their future.”
Many Republicans cheered the ruling. New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of the 21st district says it’s “a major victory for the American dream and all students.”
Democratic Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey released a statement saying that the commonwealth “will always be welcoming and inclusive of students of color and students historically underrepresented in higher education. Today’s Supreme Court decision overturns decades of settled law.”
Organized labor also condemned the decision. Max Page teaches at UMass Amherst and is the President of New England’s largest union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
“By striking down even the consideration of the race of our students applying for admission, we are going to undermine access to colleges and universities and undermine the building of a diverse commonwealth," he told WAMC. "So, we at the MTA, which represents 18,000 members in the public colleges and universities in Massachusetts, are committed to making sure in any way possible that our public colleges and universities welcome in the full broad array of students.”
