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Dear John,

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair
Admissions v. Harvard, and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of
North Carolina, Race Forward has issued the following statement:

"The Supreme Court decision on affirmative action makes clear the
current U.S. Supreme Court is intent on undermining the Constitutional
framework of civil rights by refusing to recognize and address the
systemic nature of racism," stated Glenn Harris, President of Race
Forward. "By taking the position that only in the most extreme of
circumstances can an institution directly address racial differences in
a targeted fashion, the decision ultimately undermines the basic tenets
of equal protection and ignores the reality that race shapes every life
outcome, including access to higher education."

View this explainer by Colorlines and The Advancement Project which
places the decision in a historical and contemporary context

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Specifically, this decision reduces the question of racism to mere
individual experiences, a direct attempt to subvert the historic promise
of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause transforming the court
from a protector of equality to an enemy of progress. The Court exploits
the profound need to address discrimination of Asian students in order
to reverse decades of civil rights and further create obstacles for
redressing inequalities faced by Black and Latino students.

It should not go without notice that today's decision leaves intact the
advantages afforded to legacy candidates and children of donors. A stark
system of racial inequality that advantages white applicants. "The only
precedent the Supreme Court seems committed to upholding today," noted
Harris, "is its slide towards a cynical use of the law to maintain
racial hierarchies."

This decision will be utilized by the forces of exclusion to pit
communities of color against one another. Leaders of an inclusive
America however, understand that at its core this ruling seeks to negate
the fundamental responsibility to address racism in all its forms. We
remain committed to advancing a society where all benefit from tangible
racial equity rather than suffer the consequences of the legalistic
contortions of a renegade Court.

We also applaud the dissenting opinions and intellectual leadership of
Justice Jackson and Sotomayor that recognize our deep and pervasive
racial equity gaps across society. These dissenting opinions today must
represent the court of our future with a jurisprudence with integrity
that dismantles the systemic racism that affects all communities of
color.

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