So What If They Did? Thoughts On Affirmative Action
Here is the letter I shared with the 5,000+ students, alumni, donors, and colleagues who are connected to The Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, where I work as Executive Director, following the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action:
Dear friends,
I would prefer, if I’m honest, to rest, to meditate, to lift Black people in prayer. And I will.
But, despite how fraught it has become to voice opinions on these issues, it is my responsibility to speak publicly, or at least to this community, about the Supreme Court’s ruling that affirmative action in college admissions is unlawful. As you know, the Henderson Center was formed in response to Proposition 209, California’s 1996 anti-affirmative action ballot initiative, which remains the law. I’d be remiss not to offer some thoughts in response to the national eradication of affirmative action.
And yet, what to say? My heart is heavy. My mind is heavy, too.
When I was a 2L, I was offered a summer job at a prestigious law firm. I was well qualified, having earned good grades, including the highest grade in two classes, at a top law school. Still, I was nervous about whether I would cut it. One evening, sharing a meal with a fellow law student, I finally voiced my deepest anxiety. I said…
