OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
While Democrats and their left-wing allies in the media and academia decry last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that found race-based university admissions standards were a violation of the Constitution, they appear to be in the minority.
Following the 6-3 ruling striking down so-called “affirmative action” college admissions, a new survey out Sunday from ABC News and Ipsos found that 52 percent of Americans back the decision, while just 32 percent said they didn’t. Another 16 percent said they weren’t sure.
“Two other decisions which were denounced by many progressives this week also have more public support than opposition, according to the ABC poll — although the margins are significantly tighter,” Mediaite reported.
“A decision which struck down the Biden administration’s plan to forgive student loans received 45 percent approval in the survey, compared to 40 percent disapproval, and 14 percent saying they don’t know. And a case ruling in favor of a Christian website designer who refuses to design websites for gay couples drew 43 percent approval from respondents in the ABC poll, as opposed to 42 percent disapproval and 14 percent saying they don’t know,” the report added.
The Supreme Court considered two related race-based admissions cases. The nation’s highest court ruled 6-2 that race-based admissions programs at Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and 6-3 that the University of North Carolina violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recused herself from the Harvard case because she graduated from the Ivy League college and served on its board.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the majority opinion, wrote, “Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin. Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.”
“Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise. But, despite the dissent’s assertion to the contrary, universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today,” the opinion noted further.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, who grew up during the Jim Crow era, wrote that Jackson, in her dissent, attempts to link “the legacy of slavery and the nature of inherited wealth” to disproportionately negative socioeconomic outcomes for blacks in America.
“This, she claims, locks blacks into a seemingly perpetual inferior caste. Such a view is irrational; it is an insult to individual achievement and cancerous to young minds seeking to push through barriers, rather than consign themselves to permanent victimhood,” he wrote in his opinion.
Thomas went on to note the multitude of black achievements in the country and dismissed Jackson’s “race-based worldview” that is held by most Democrats.
“Individuals are the sum of their unique experiences, challenges, and accomplishments. What matters is not the barriers they face, but how they choose to confront them,” he wrote.
Though he acknowledged “social and economic ravages” in the past that plagued black Americans, he went on to share his belief that the country will “live up to its principles” of a colorblind society following the ruling.
The use of race when considering college admissions — while appearing patently unconstitutional on its face — had been in practice since the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
The Daily Wire host Candace Owens responded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday.
In a tweet, Owens noted: “Wow!! Affirmative action, something I have spoken out against for the last 7 years, has FINALLY been struck down in a historic Supreme Court ruling. This is a MAJOR WIN in the strive for racial equality, removing the bigotry of low expectations against black students while permitting Asian and white Americans an EQUAL chance to be rewarded for their hard work. RACE should never be a factor in deciding whether or not you are qualified for anything.”
“It’s a shame it took this long, but finally— justice wins!” she noted further, adding: “Make America a meritocracy again.”
