On Thursday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a statement today following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. In a 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the majority’s opinion held that racial discrimination in university admissions violates the Constitution’s prohibition on governmental discrimination based on race.
“This landmark decision makes clear ‘the core purpose of the Equal Protection Clause: doing away with all governmentally imposed discrimination based on race,” Marshall stated. “Ivy League appeals to diversity do not justify discriminating against prospective students based on the color of their skin.”
In May 2022, Attorney General Marshall joined a coalition of 19 states supporting the challengers’ cases before the Supreme Court. The brief decried Harvard’s and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s discrimination against Asian-American applicants. The conservative AGs argued that racial discrimination in admissions is unnecessary to ensure applicants have a fair shot at obtaining quality higher education.
The Biden Department of Justice supported both Universities in their vigorous defense of their admissions policies. Thursday’s ruling was a defeat for the Biden Administration.
“Today, the Court once again walked away from decades of precedent and made — as the dissent has made clear,” said President Joe Biden. “The dissent states that today’s decision, quote, ‘rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress.’ End of quote. I agree with that statement from the dissents — from the dissent.”
“The Court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions,” Biden continued. “And I strongly — strongly disagree with the Court’s decision.”
“We all know it: Discrimination still exists in America. Discrimination still exists in America. Discrimination still exists in America,” Biden stated. “Today’s decision does not change that. It’s a simple fact. If a student has — has overcome — had to overcome adversity on their path to education, a college should recognize and value that. Our nation’s colleges and universities should be engines of expanding opportunity through upward mobility. But today, too often, that’s not the case.”
Biden continued, “Colleges and universities should continue their commitment to support, retain, and graduate diverse students and classes. We can’t go backwards. You know, I know today’s Court decision is a severe disappointment to so many people, including me, but we cannot let the decision be a permanent setback for the country. We need to keep an open 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.”
Biden was asked by a reporter, “President Biden, the Congressional Black Caucus said the Supreme Court has “thrown into question its own legitimacy.” Is this a rogue Court?”
“This is not a normal Court,” Biden responded.
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