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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 change the fact that racial disparities persist at elite institutions. And students who earn their degrees there gain access to an alumni network of wealthy, privileged people. The leadership positions in American society are "disproportionately held by graduates from a few highly selective private colleges." So, limiting the rate of Black people admitted to elite universities means fewer of them will have a seat at the table.
Americans who claim they "do not see race" or that "race does not matter" may believe that this is the best path forward. For instance, Jane Elliott, an educator and anti-racism scholar known for her "Blue Eyes/ Brown Eyes Experiment," endorses the notion that we are one race, the human race, and thus, we should not acknowledge our physical differences, that doing so perpetuates racism. Those who complete or reflect upon the exercise are confronted with the injustice of a society that ranks people based on arbitrary physical features…
