CNN— A federal appeals court on Thursday narrowly struck down Michigan’s 6-year-old ban on considering race and gender in college admissions, a ruling that the state intends to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-7 that the affirmative action ban, which Michigan voters passed in a 2006 referendum, violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection laws.
The ruling is the latest step in a years-long legal battle over whether the state’s colleges can use race and gender as a factor in choosing which students to admit. The ban’s opponents say the case could help strike down anti-affirmative-action policies in other states if it goes to the Supreme Court…. (more)
“[t]he way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” – Chief Justice John Roberts
In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently. — Justice Harry Blackmun
EDITOR: Is the problem today one of race or one of class?