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The Politics Shed- A Free Text Book for all students of Politics.
Leading the attack on AA has been The American Civil Rights Institute a pressure group, created in 1996 by Ward Connerly, a black opponent of Affirmative Action. It funds state campaigns and despite strong opposition from groups such as the NAACP, the Institute has been highly successful. Five states - Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma - held votes in 2008, with only Colorado voting to maintain affirmative action.
There has also been a series of successful challenges to this policy in the Supreme Court,
· University of California v Bakke 1978 - effectively ended the use of quotas
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003): Upheld the University of Michigan Law School’s holistic admissions process, affirming that student body diversity is a compelling interest. However, Justice O’Connor famously predicted that such programs would likely be unnecessary in 25 years.
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003): Struck down Michigan’s undergraduate "points system" (which automatically awarded points to minority applicants), ruling it was too mechanical and not sufficiently individualized.
· Fisher v Texas 2013 - ordered strict scrutiny of the University of Texas use of affirmative action (although the University policy was upheld in Fisher II in 2016)
·Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2014): Ruled that states (like Michigan) have the right to pass laws or constitutional amendments banning affirmative action in public universities and hiring.
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard (2023): In a 6–3 ruling (6–2 for Harvard due to a recusal), the Court held that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that while universities can consider how race has affected an individual applicant's life (e.g., through personal essays), they cannot use race as a categorical "plus factor" in a way that lacks clear endpoints.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the USA refers to organizational frameworks promoting fair treatment and representation for historically marginalized groups. While surging in 2020, DEI is currently facing a significant, high-profile rollback led by the Trump administration, with major companies like Meta, Walmart, and Google scaling back initiatives, focusing instead on "merit-based" opportunities and reducing race-conscious policies
The executive branch has aggressively moved to dismantle DEI frameworks within federal agencies and for federal contractors: [1]
Executive Order 14151 (Jan 20, 2025): Directed federal agencies to end DEI programs, preferences, and mandatory trainings.
Federal Contractors (March 2026): A new executive order prohibits "racially discriminatory DEI activities" for federal contractors and subcontractors. Non-compliance can lead to the termination of federal contracts.
Agency Scrubbing: Mentions of "women," "people of color," and "LGBTQ" have been removed from various federal websites and guidance documents.
Impact on Institutions: Universities and public institutions are reducing race-focused initiatives, such as student groups and targeted recruitment, often focusing instead on economic disadvantage as a metric for diversity.
Future Trends: Despite the rollback, some organizations continue to link diversity in leadership to higher profitability. Others are evolving DEI strategies toward "leveling" the playing field through blinded processes rather than explicit preferential treatment
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