Horace Cooper of Project 21 states the high court's decision in 2003 in Grutter v. Bollinger had "disastrous consequences" because it allowed racial preferences in admissions. "The U.S. Constitution is color-blind and consequently protects all races," he argues. "The Supreme Court failed to uphold this view [in Grutter]; it now has a chance to get it right."
Cooper is alluding to the case the justices are being asked to accept: Students for Fair Admissions v. the University of North Carolina, et al.
"The opportunity here is significant to correct a mistake that had been made and to do so in a way that brings us back to what our Founders intended, with the Martin Luther King vision and that our Constitution explicitly states," Hooper tells AFN.
In its "friends of the court" legal brief, Project 21 points out the Pacific Legal Foundation argues the law offers no exception for education. Cooper adds: "We at Project 21 don't see any positive outcome that has occurred from having black Americans or other favored groups, even Native Americans, being given some preference."
Project 21's brief cites a study showing that students who received racial preferences were less likely to pass the bar exam.
There is currently no timeframe for the Supreme Court to announce whether it will take up the Students for Fair Admissions case.
