Despite a majority of Americans supporting the use of race in university admissions (although asking the question differently effects the results), it is very likely in the coming days that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule that university affirmative action programs are unconstitutional (UPDATE: On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court reversed decades of precedent and ruled that affirmative action in college admissions was unconstitutional; this also led many to question the long-standing practice of legacy admissions in U.S. universities). This follows a trend of the conservative-majority Supreme Court undoing decades of civil rights legal precedents, including abortion rights (Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization), voting rights (Shelby County v. Holder), as well as separation of church and state (Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission; Carson v. Makin, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District; Shurtleff v. Boston) in the United States.
This post is meant to help teach students about the history of affirmative action, the current debate over affirmative action, and help students contemplate the inquiry question: How should we address the racial disadvantages embedded in our educational systems?
This issue is not only incredibly important to discuss with students, and especially high schools students who are often preparing to apply to college, but since educational access is a major determinant of life outcomes, it is an important issue for equity more broadly in American society.
Racial Segregation and the Civil Rights Acts
The United States was established as an independent nation in 1783 with a legalized race-based slave system and with people of color and women not having equal citizenship rights to white men, which caused widespread racial and gender inequality. After the Civil War and Reconstruction, racial and gender discrimination persisted and the social and economic gaps between white men and people of color and women continued to widen. While there were some eras of expanding racial and gender equality, including some civil rights cases in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (such as Tape v. Hurley and Méndez v. Westminster), women's suffrage, and during the New Deal (including anti-discrimination executive orders), it was not until Brown v. Board of Education that the government had a constitutional obligation to prevent racial discrimination. Soon laws, such as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act would follow and extend these protections based on gender, national origin, and other social identities.
Brown v. Board of Education (PBS American Experience)
After Brown v. Board of Education (Organization of American Historians)
Great Society and Racial Equality
History of Affirmative Action and Re-Segregation of the United States
"Affirmative action" was a term first used in Executive Order 10925 signed by John F. Kennedy in regard to preventing racial discrimination in the hiring of government contractors. Under the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the program became one of his signature civil rights initiatives. In the 1960s and 70s, affirmative action programs expanded in employment and education for both people of color and women (white women have been the largest beneficiary of affirmative action). While primarily government programs, private employers and academic institutions have also adopted affirmative action policies. Yet, since the 1990s, racial segregation in U.S. schools, workforce, and housing has increased.
Affirmative Action Timeline (The American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity)
History of Affirmative Action (Smithsonian Magazine)
History of Affirmative Action (Clinton White House Archive)
The Return of School Segregation (PBS Frontline)
The Re-Segregation of the United States (NBC News)
Court Challenges to Affirmative Action
Starting in the 1970s, there were a series of conservative legal challenges to affirmative action programs. They have made claims that race should not be a consideration in employment and especially not a consideration in school and college admissions (and labeling it as a form of "reverse discrimination," where there is evidence it instead "leveled the playing field."). Simultaneously, affirmative action programs increased social and economic opportunities for people of color and women. Meanwhile, many groups have defended the practice as a means to ensuring fairness in educational and employment opportunities.
University of California v. Bakke
Wessmann v. Boston School Committee
Grutter v. Bollinger/Gratz v. Bollinger
Fisher v. The University of Texas
Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina/Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College
Supreme Court's Hostility to Affirmative Action (National Public Radio)
Meet the Man Trying to End Affirmative Action (Christian Science Monitor)
Commentaries and Fact Sheets on Affirmative Action
Below are a series of affirmative action fact sheets and commentaries presenting different perspectives on the topic.
ACLU Affirmative Action Fact Sheet
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Fact Sheet
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Fact Sheet
The Changing Meaning of Affirmative Action - The New Yorker
5 Reasons to Keep Affirmative Action - Center for American Progress
