High Court Says States Can End Racial Preferences

Univ of Michigan protest affirmative action in front
of the US Supreme Court,  June 2003. - Reuters

April 22, 2014 - Nearly 150 years have passed since the Civil War ended slavery in the United States. But institutionalized racial inequality -- supported by so-called "liberals" and "progressives" -- has persisted, propped up by the same Federal Government that has become to adept at violating states' rights.

Finally, the Supreme Court today "voted 6-2 that states may end racial preferences without violating the U.S. Constitution," reports The Wall Street Journal, "upholding a Michigan law that grew out of the state's long-running debate over affirmative action policies at public universities."

What does this mean? Quite simply, that public schools and other instutitions in Michigan can no longer discriminate against certain ethnic and racial groups. That is, after all, what "affirmative action" really is: Reverse discrimination, the favoring of some groups over others. Call it what you will, it is unconstitutional and the Supreme Court has now officially said so.

The People Spoke
A 2006 ballot initiative in Michigan saw voters choose to end to racial preferences at state schools. "But it also left intact legal precedents that protect minorities from being targeted for unfair treatment through the political process," says WSJ.

"Our state constitution requires equal treatment in college admissions, because it is fundamentally wrong to treat people differently based on the color of their skin," Republican Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said. "A majority of Michigan voters embraced the ideal of equal treatment in 2006, and today their decision was affirmed."

"This case is not about how the debate (over racial preferences) should be resolved," Justice Anthony Kennedy said in announcing the ruling. But to stop Michigan voters from making their own decision on affirmative action would be "an unprecedented restriction on a fundamental right held by all in common."

Supporters of affirmative action said the ruling sets Michigan back. "It will result in the tyranny of the majority," said ACLU of Michigan attorney Mark Fancher. "There are occasions where the minority doesn’t have a prayer in the democratic process. In those cases, the minority deserves protection."

What folks like the ACLU don't say, however, is that they prefer that the majority has no prayer in the democratic process and a tyranny of the minority should reign. That is the antithesis of democracy.

Also See:
Supreme Court Gives Racial Preferences a Death Blow The College Fix
Justices approve state bans on affirmative action USA Today
Supreme Court Upholds Michigan's Ban On Affirmative Action NPR
State's affirmative action ban doesn't discriminate, Supreme Court rules Crain's Detroit
Activists to ask U-M to drop 'discriminatory' ACT, SAT scores from admissions Detroit News
Affirmative Action In America Is A Total Failure Business Insider