Georgia NAACP, civil rights leaders say affirmative action ruling major step backwards for country

ATLANTA — Georgia civil rights leaders and organizations are reacting to news that the Supreme Court has thrown out longstanding affirmative action policies at universities, ruling that race cannot be a factor in college admissions.

The conservative majority of the nation’s highest court announced the ruling Thursday morning.

The Supreme Court had repeatedly ruled since 1978 that schools may consider the race of applicants in pursuing educational benefits from a diverse student body, so long as they did not use a quota system.

Channel 2′s Ashley Lincoln spoke with the head of the Georgia chapter of the NAACP on Thursday, Gerald Griggs, who said the ruling is a major step backward.

Griggs said getting rid of affirmative action programs will significantly eliminate the number of minority students accepted into colleges and universities.

“It’s a dark day in American history, 60 years of work was just gutted,” Griggs said. “The first thought that went to my mind was my daughter, who is a 9th grader, she will not be taken into account for the person she is, and the racial disparities that have concurred in this county for at least 100 years, and so for the Supreme Court to make this decision, it’s a very bad decision. It sets us back in the civil rights generation.”

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Groups like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference are also very critical of the decision, saying the decision will lead to less diversity in key industries such as law and medicine.

“First of all, I think it’s an attack on African Americans and the Black community,” SCLC president Charles Steele said.

Steele pulled no punches in his criticism of the supreme court decision.

He insists many qualified Black students needed affirmative action to get into schools like Harvard because he said some just don’t have the family or business connections to get in any other way.

“How do you get to Harvard, and then people who went to school with certain individuals applied and didn’t get into Harvard, because of relationships,” Steele told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot.

Alba Villarreal is the communications director for Galeo, an organization that represents the Latinx community.

She worries that without affirmative action, many qualified Hispanics and Latinx won’t be able to get into top schools, which down the road, means less minority lawyers and doctors -- something she thinks is critical.

“I know a lot of people who need affirmative action as a way to justify applying because it provided an opportunity,” Villarreal said. “We’re going to have less diversity in the fields that require it. Diversity saves lives in such fields as law and medical fields.”

Here’s what other metro leaders and politicians had to say:

Dr. Bernice King:

“We should not need affirmative action. But we do. Because racism, particularly anti-Black racism, persists in this nation’s systems, policies, and institutions.”

“Until we change that, decision-makers must be made to make equitable decisions. This ruling prevents that mandate.”

Rep. Hank Johnson:

“Justice ‘Harlan Crow’ Thomas and five other MAGAs have just slammed the college doors on Black and Brown folks after declaring that we now live in a color-blind country. This judicial activism must be met with passage of my legislation to expand SCOTUS. This decision can lead to the demise of HBCUs. We cannot let that happen. Supreme Court Reform Now!”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens:

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to end affirmative action programs at colleges and universities will have disastrous effects on families of color who are already grappling with upward economic mobility.

“Plainly put, they got it wrong and I am gravely concerned on what this means for a diverse workforce like ours in the city of Atlanta.

“A quality education is a powerful tool, and my Administration will continue to do its part to ensure every child in Atlanta has the support from their village needed to thrive—regardless of who they are. "

Stay with WSBTV.com and tune into Channel 2 Action News RIGHT NOW for the latest on this developing story.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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