Al Sharpton calls Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling ‘a dagger in our back’
Jenny Goldsberry
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The Rev. Al Sharpton is criticizing the Supreme Court‘s decision striking down affirmative action, likening it to a stab in the back.
Under affirmative action, universities could consider the race of applicants as part of their admissions process, as long as race was not the sole factor guiding a final decision. Sharpton argued it was “needed” because of the “racial history of the country.”
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Al Sharpton on MSNBC
“I think that this is tantamount to sticking a dagger in our back because what they have said now is that it is unconstitutional to even consider race,” Sharpton said. “It was against the law for us to read and write until 160 years ago. We were enslaved 246 years.”
A six-member majority undid the landmark 1978 case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which upheld affirmative action. Sharpton laid part of the blame on former President Donald Trump, who nominated three justices to the court.
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“My last point, my last point that really is frightening to me is now in the private sector, corporations, many of whom made pledges around the George Floyd movement, that didn’t live up to them, can now say: ‘Well, we can’t consider race in terms of contracts and employment and board members and what we do in the community because the court now is saying it is unconstitutional,'” Sharpton said. “The laws were against us, and now the law has turned on us.”
A majority of Americans think race should not be considered as part of college admissions, including 84% of whites, 81% of Hispanics, 76% of Asians, and 71% of blacks, according to a new Pew Research poll.