[News-releases] Supreme Court Recognizes Benefits of Diversity InSplit Decision Favoring Affirmative Action

NOW Press Office
202-628-8669 Rebecca Farmer, x 116
202-785-8576 (fax) 

Supreme Court Recognizes Benefits of Diversity In Split Decision Favoring
Affirmative Action

June 23, 2003

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy 

Forty years ago this month, George Wallace stood in the schoolhouse
door, blocking African-American students from entering the University of
Alabama. George W. Bush made his stand this year at the University of
Michigan, in asking the Supreme Court to abolish all affirmative action
for racial minorities, but five justices said he was wrong. Their
decision will continue ensuring access to higher education for women and
people of color as long as these justices remain on the Court. 

Widespread racial and gender inequality still exist in virtually
every
aspect of our society, and higher education is no exception. The
University of Michigan policies have created opportunities, helped to
overcome past discrimination, and opened avenues for learning and
cultural exchange that benefit students of all races. At issue in
Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger were
affirmative action policies at the University of Michigan and the
University of Michigan Law School, respectively, each of which considered
race as one of many factors in determining admission. The "point
system" in Gratz was rejected, but the Grutter
decision upheld the law school's effort to ensure a critical mass of
racial minorities. 

The narrow margin in the Grutter case underscores the importance
of protecting the Supreme Court--and the entire federal judiciary--from
Bush's attempt to stack the courts for decades with lifetime appointments
of religious and political extremists. The 5 to 4 split in Grutter is a
brutal reminder of the Court's delicate balance and what is at stake with
the next resignation from the Court. If such a vacancy is filled by a
justice in the mold of ultraconservative Justices Antonin Scalia and
Clarence Thomas, civil rights and women's rights would be set back for
decades. NOW's Save the Court mobilization will press Senators to confirm
justices who will uphold civil rights laws rather than using the Court to
advance conservative social policy. 

###