Washington — President Biden is delivering remarks at the White House on Thursday after the Supreme Court ruled against the race-conscious admission policies of Harvard College and the University of North Carolina, rejecting affirmative action in higher education in a decision with nationwide ramifications.
The court’s 6-3 ruling in the University of North Carolina case was along ideological lines, and the court ruled 6-2 in the Harvard case, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recusing herself. The court’s ruling comes just a day before the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of Mr. Biden’s student loan forgiveness program.
Mr. Biden has expressed support for affirmative action, and his administration urged the Supreme Court to decline to hear Harvard’s case. The court’s ruling is dismaying to many Democratic politicians, on the heels of other Supreme Court losses.
“In its dedication to moving backwards, the Supreme Court has once again rolled back protections for people in marginalized communities across this country,” Rep. Cori Bush, a Black Missouri Democrat, said Thursday. “Ending affirmative action in higher education — which the court had already held to be legal — will have devastating impacts on our communities. Universities have historically denied Black, brown, and Indigenous people from accessing institutions of higher education. Affirmative action helped level the racist and uneven playing field.”
Former first lady Michelle Obama, a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard University Law School, issued a lengthy statement Thursday.
“So often, we just accept that money, power, and privilege are perfectly justifiable forms of affirmative action, while kids growing up like I did are expected to compete when the ground is anything but level,” she wrote. “So today, my heart breaks for any young person out there who’s wondering what their future holds — and what kinds of chances will be open to them.”
How to watch Biden speak on affirmative action
- What: President Biden delivers remarks on Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision
- Date: June 29, 2023
- Time: 12:30 p.m.
- Location: Roosevelt Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
- Online stream: Live on CBS News in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device.
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