Affirmative Action's Reversal: The Long-Term Effects on Higher Education for Black and Hispanic Americans

• In Event: Identity and Political Behavior

Abstract

In June 2023, a Supreme Court decision ended affirmative action, a policy based on the idea that students of color would receive due consideration and equal protection in the college admissions process. Within a short time, a number of universities nationwide made clear their intention to observe the new policies, thus rendering more than four decades of progress rescinded and nullified. While affirmative action has been thought to be a tool utilized primarily by Black Americans and Latinos, college attendance within those groups, as of 2021, was 33% and 32%, respectively, for 18-24-year-olds. White and Asian students were represented in much higher numbers, collectively, 37% for White students and 58% for Asian students. Given that the lawsuits that catapulted the law, SFFA v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and SFFA v. UNC, were representing the interests of White and Asian students, the question remains as to why. The negative impact will clearly affect more Black and Latino minority students, potentially, given the lower numbers of college attendees. As numerous lawsuits continue to be filed against institutions of higher learning regarding equal protection policies, what are Black and Latino students to do in order to protect their futures on these and other campuses? This paper will seek to offer policy possibilities and ideas on how black and Latino students can protect their interests at institutions of higher learning within the parameters now set by the Supreme Court ruling.

Author

• Donna Taylor, Independent Researcher