Civil rights activist and television pundit Al Sharpton expressed outrage at the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions.
“This is tantamount to sticking a dagger in our back,” Sharpton said during an appearance on MSNBC Thursday. “Because what they have said now is that it is unconstitutional to even consider race, and given the racial history of the country, let’s not act like Blacks are behind because there is something in our genes … It was against the law for us to even read and write until 160 years ago.”
The court’s six conservative justices ruled in a blockbuster decision that the admissions practices set up by two institutions of higher learning, Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, did not comply with the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.
The court’s decision has been widely panned by Democrats and advocates for racial justice.
“This is a tremendous set back that must be resisted by every corner, including the Department of Justice and including states,” Sharpton said.