UNEQUAL ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Why Colorblind Admissions at Harvard Law Has a Racist Outcome
The rate of Black students was slashed by more than half
When some scholars warned that banning race-based affirmative action policies would diminish the share of Black students accepted to prestigious colleges and universities, they were largely dismissed as hyperbolic. Many were convinced that racism no longer impacted the admissions process. Others argued that maintaining such policies gave some students an unfair advantage. And yet, in the year following the national ban on affirmative action, we see that colorblind admissions produced a racist outcome. Indeed, at Harvard Law School, the number of Black students dropped by more than half following the ban, reaching the lowest level since the 1960s. Students who attend prestigious universities are granted a golden opportunity to earn a college degree and access elite networks that can propel their careers. Thus, restricting who enters the front doors of these institutions limits who the leaders of tomorrow are.
Of course, Black students could skip applying to Ivy League schools altogether and apply to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and state-run schools, which are much more likely to accept their applications. But, doing so wouldn't…
