Mint Explainer: US Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action

• Affirmative action, aka positive discrimination, refers to a set of policies that provide increased opportunities to historically disadvantaged groups. In the context of American education, minority groups such as African-Americans and Hispanics benefited as universities sought to expand diversity on campuses.
• Liberals in the US have argued that these policies help increase opportunities for minorities who have historically been denied access to further education and social mobility. However, some groups felt discriminated against. Some Asian American rights groups argued that the use of race as a factor in admissions resulted in discrimination against them, because they are a high-performing, high-income minority. Conservative activists also argued that the use of caste in admissions was discriminatory.
• The battle over affirmative action has gone on for decades, dating back to 2003, when the US Supreme Court ruled that race could be used as a consideration during the admissions process. But several states, such as California and Florida, have since banned affirmative action in university admissions.
• This latest decision comes after cases were filed against affirmative action programs at two universities – the University of North Carolina and Harvard. The Supreme Court, now dominated by conservative justices, ruled that race-based affirmative action policies were unconstitutional.
• Conservative activists celebrated the verdict, which also drew positive reactions from former US President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy. But liberal politicians, including US President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, disagreed with the decision, saying it would deny opportunities to historically oppressed minorities.

Updated: June 30, 2023, 03:29 PM IST