Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is a set of policies, beginning in the 1960s, that aim to increase opportunities for marginalized groups. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and an executive order, businesses that received federal funds could no longer use aptitude tests that discriminated against Black Americans. It was eventually expanded to cover women and other marginalized groups as well as universities and government agencies.

Affirmative action and racial quotas in college admissions have been challenged since the 1970s with its opponents claiming “reverse discrimination.” The Court eventually outlawed quota programs but allowed colleges to consider race as a factor in admission decisions.

In 2023, a Supreme Court decision struck down affirmative action in college admissions meaning that colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a basis of granting admission. This decision backslides decades hard-won progress for students of color seeking higher education.

I Was Low-Income and Undocumented, But I Dreamed of College. Now I’m ACLU’s Deputy National Political Director.

With recent judicial blows to affirmative action and DACA, and attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, many underrepresented students are left wondering: Now what?

Do they belong in higher education? Will they have the opportunity to go to college? Will they have a successful career? Will they ever make it? Growing up Latina, low-income and undocumented, Maribel Hernández Rivera had the same questions. Now, she is the ACLU’s deputy national policy director and is searching for ways to support and mentor the next generation.

‘Banned! Voices from the Classroom’: The Path to an Elite Education, in the Absence of Affirmative Action

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With a recent Supreme Court ruling gutting affirmative action, parents and students find themselves navigating a landscape where the rules have shifted with little notice.

A high-schooler about to apply for college, and his mom, join their voices: “Both of us feel whiplashed by the constant yo-yo between our identities and contributions. It is in these sudden changes that we stand together, searching for understanding. In our shared experiences of marginalization, two generations can transcend difference, because we both know what it means to be made invisible, and we each feel the well-intentioned pressure to get it right the first time because of insider information and academic achievements.”

Supreme Court Review: The Term That Ended Affirmative Action, Allowed LGBTQ Discrimination, and More

Friday, June 30, marked the end of a roller coaster of a Supreme Court term. The same day, legal experts and commentators gathered for the 13th Annual Supreme Court Review at the University of California, Irvine.

The panel discussed the high Court’s bombshell rulings from the last several months, which put an end to affirmative action, protected businesses’ “constitutional” rights to discriminate against LGBTQ people under the guise of free speech, halted President Joe Biden’s authority to forgive federal student loans, and more. These monumental decisions will have ripple effects in the years and decades to come.

Watch the hour-long program, or read some of our favorite takes.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action—A Blow to Equality and Democracy

Colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a basis for granting admission, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upending decades of its own precedents that have benefited Black, Latino and Indigenous students seeking higher education.

The long-awaited decision was met with instant rebuke from legal observers and civil rights advocates. “Today’s decisions from the Supreme Court on affirmative action represent a significant setback for civil rights in the U.S. and are a cornerstone of the conservative movement’s coordinated effort to roll back access to opportunity for systemically marginalized Americans,” said Kimberlé Crenshaw, executive director of the African American Policy Forum.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Affirmative Action and the Supreme Court; Ranked-Choice Voting Reaches Arlington, Va.

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Ranked-choice voting helps reassure voters they can vote for the candidate they want rather than who they think will win; the Supreme Court has two cases on its docket that will determine the future of affirmative action; Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) could become the third Black woman to ever serve in the U.S. Senate; and more.

Keeping Score: Senators Push to Protect Pregnant Workers; Supreme Court Threatens Affirmative Action; Legal Abortions Down 6 Percent

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in in this biweekly round-up.

This week: Supreme Court cases threaten the future of affirmative action; senators push legislation to protect incarcerated pregnant women and pregnant workers; Social Security Administration will allow transgender people to indicate their correct gender on documents; Hawaii high school discrimination case puts Title IX to the test; Italy swears in its first woman prime minister; 4.6 million Americans are disenfranchised due to felony convictions; and more.

Race-Conscious Policies—Including Affirmative Action—Are Necessary For Addressing Racial Inequity

Race-Conscious Policies—Including Affirmative Action—Are Necessary For Addressing Racial Inequity

Affirmative action recently survived yet another legal attack when the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Harvard’s favor in a case challenging affirmative action.

This latest case against Harvard demonstrates that color-blindness cannot uproot this country’s legacy of racism. We must face race head-on to meaningfully address the racial inequality that persists in our society.