WASHINGTON — It was another divisive Supreme Court decision that left Jerry Hawkins in disbelief. The executive director of the group Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation said he believes his family benefited from race-based affirmative action programs.

What You Need To Know

  • Split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court broke precedent and ruled Thursday that race-based affirmative action programs cannot be a factor in the college admission process

  • It forces universities to find other ways to achieve diverse student bodies

  • There will be repercussions for public and private colleges across Texas

  • The University of Texas at Austin was at the center of a battle over affirmative action less than a decade ago

“My mother became a teacher when teaching was an exclusionary act just years before she was born, two years before the Brown v. Board decision. My father became a county sheriff in a space where no Black man was able to do that just a decade before. So these things have impacted my life for sure,” Hawkins told Spectrum News.

Split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court broke precedent and ruled Thursday that race-based affirmative action programs cannot be a factor in the college admission process. It forces universities to find other ways to achieve diverse student bodies. 

“With an ever-changing and growing people of color population in the United States, it is important that people see themselves reflected in these roles and affirmative action has assisted in doing that, particularly when it comes to representation,” Hawkins said.

There will be repercussions for public and private colleges across Texas. That includes the University of Texas at Austin, which was at the center of a battle over affirmative action less than a decade ago.

The court’s ruling Thursday, involving affirmative action at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, was brought by a conservative group founded by activist Edward Blum. He led previous Supreme Court challenges against his alma mater, UT Austin.

He recruited Abigail Fisher, a white student from Austin who did not get accepted into UT, and argued she was discriminated against. 

The Supreme Court struck down Fisher’s case, but the court's composition has changed dramatically since, because of the three conservative justices appointed by President Donald Trump. That change led to Blum’s legal victory Thursday.

“Ending racial preferences in college admissions is an outcome that the vast majority of all Americans of all races will celebrate,” said Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions. “A university doesn’t have real diversity when it simply assembles students who look different but come from similar backgrounds and talk and act and think alike.”

Reaction from the Texas Congressional delegation fell along party lines. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote on Twitter, “This is a tremendous victory for those who have suffered from explicit racial discrimination. Treating any American differently because of their race is a direct violation of their 14th Amendment rights.” 

Meanwhile, Texas Democrats voiced disappointment. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Dallas, told Spectrum News he believes the justices will go down in history “as the Supreme Court that is going to be instrumental in state universities and other universities all across this great land, seeing their Black and brown numbers diminish because of their decision today.” 

In a statement to Spectrum News, UT officials said, “the university has lawfully been considering race among many factors as part of its comprehensive and holistic admissions process. UT will make the necessary adjustments to comply with the most recent changes to the law and remains committed to offering an exceptional education to students from all backgrounds and preparing our students to succeed and change the world.”