Affirmative Action Corrects Wrongs from Your Lifetime, Not Ancient History.

The front of the Supreme Court Building, including the West Pediment.

The Supreme Court of the United States gutted the use of race-based Affirmative Action in college admissions.

In short…it’s despicable.

They must not have read the words on their own building.

Instead of diving into historical facts and data about wealth and education gaps, I want to share a very personal story and observation.

When I was in the 7th grade in New Albany, Indiana, we had a discussion about Affirmative Action in my honors history class. I’m very embarrassed to share that I made a comment about how unfair it was, because it meant really smart kids who deserved to go to college couldn’t get in. There was one Black girl in the class, and she was deeply offended by my comment. She was right.

I know now how problematic my 12-year-old thinking was. There is no reason to believe that Affirmative Action favors unqualified students. In its truest form, it looks at the pool of all qualified students — of which there are many more than there are admission slots at most major universities — and gives an added boost to those who had to work harder, do more, and overcome greater obstacles to be in that pool. Of qualified students. Which they are in.

Yes, some in the pool may have higher standardized test scores or better grades, but that does not make them automatically better candidates for matriculation. Schools looking at…