North Texans react after SCOTUS strikes down affirmative action

By Allie Spillyards

On June 29, 2023

As the CEO of the nonprofit “Young Leaders, Strong City,” Amber Sims spends her days helping equip teens for their futures.

She says Thursday’s six to three ruling by the Supreme Court to strike down affirmative action is yet another hurdle.

“Right now, that narrative around people of color and women is that they’re not working hard enough. They’re taking something that belongs to me that I should have had and I want it back, and that narrative is unfortunately directed at people who have historically and are today experiencing oppression,” she said.

To see the impact of affirmative action on her life, Sims looks to the past.

“Both of my parents and all of my aunts and uncles went to historically Black colleges and universities in Texas and in Alabama because that’s what they had to do because schools were segregated,” said Sims.

Just one generation later, she and other affirmative action advocates argue the policy is still needed to achieve equity in higher education.

Shortly after the court’s decision came down, President Joe Biden urged colleges and universities to remain committed to diversity under a new standard.

“Where colleges take into account the adversity a student has overcome when selecting among qualified applicants,” said Biden.

But adversity is tough to define, according to President of Paul Quinn College Michael Sorrell.

“When I am racially profiled, driving through a neighborhood, does that qualify as adversity? Right? There’s the fact that I have been called hateful names that my past, does that qualify as adversity? Even though my parents were successful business owners, and I went to outstanding schools, how do we determine what qualifies as adversity? Because I will tell you, it is very difficult being Black in this country right now. Right? Is that the adversity that we’re going to speak to?” said Sorrell.

Thursday several Texas lawmakers praised the high court’s decision with Congressman Roger Williams tweeting the “ruling will ensure that admissions are granted based solely on merit, not race.” 

Texas Representative Matt Shaheen called it a victory saying, “These policies ended up being discriminatory, penalizing Asian students for example.”

That’s the argument at the center of the two cases that led to the decision, brought by Students for Fair Admission.

“Affirmative action is a well-intentioned idea that is poorly executed in reality. Thus, it is my hope to see a renewed college admissions system that recognizes and rewards the multi-faceted talent and diverse perspective that each individual can bring to the table,” said Calvin Yang in a press conference Thursday.

But while Black and Hispanic students remain underrepresented at top colleges and universities, critics of today’s decision argue more needs to be done.

“I think we have to really think about how we eliminate the barriers in front of kids of color,” said Sims.  

She said that includes doing away with requirements for entrance exams like the SAT and ACT and considering other factors in the admission process like volunteerism, life experiences and financial backgrounds.

According to Sorrell, if affirmative action goes, the college admissions process should be rethought for all.

“I think if you’re going to start attacking preferences, then you need to deal with all the preferences. You need to deal with legacy preferences. You needed to deal with athletic preferences. If we’re going to go deal with this one area, then why stop there?” said Sorrell.

This piece was republished from NBC DFW News.