CNN legal analyst Elie Honig defended the reasoning that led a majority of Supreme Court justices to strike down affirmative action Thursday.
The Supreme Court ruled that “Harvard’s and [the University of North Carolina’s] admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” The UNC case was a 6-3 decision while the Harvard decision broke 6-2 after Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recused herself due to her position on the Harvard Board of Overseers. (RELATED: Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action Admissions)
“What I think’s really interesting is there is a recognition here even in the majority, which is striking down affirmative action, that racial diversity is a virtue, it is a value. They’re not saying it’s a bad thing or it’s meaningless. The question is, ‘What are the constitutional means to get there?'” he said.
Many liberals were less measured in their response.
Democratic Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown tweeted that the decision “is a disaster for the Black and Brown kids I represent, denying many a fair chance.”
Dr. T. Anansi Wilson, a professor at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, called the Supreme Court the country’s “chief enforcer of white supremacy.”
Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres described the loss of affirmative action as “a tragedy for communities of color, which continue to live with both the reality and legacy of systemic racism.”
Former first lady Michelle Obama said her “heart breaks.”