Transcripts For CSPAN Lawyers 20240705

We need universal health care. Good afternoon. We will get started in one minute. Good afternoon. My name is maya wiley. I am the president and ceo of we are the nations oldest and widest and we look like this nation. We are the people of this nation. We are here today to discuss the Supreme Courts decision on affirmative action. With us are the incredible leaders on organizations and incredible civil rights organizations leaders. The president and director counsel of the Legal Defense fund, the Vice President Strategic Initiatives at Asian Americans advancing justice, the president and general counsel of Latino Justice and someone who is at the Lawyers Committee as well, director of the Educational Opportunities project, who argued before the Supreme Court. You will hear from all of these important leaders but we start by saying we stand together as a civil rights community. We stand together as Community Leaders representing community who have fought for the recognition that todays america has still not lived up to the ideals we deeply share as americans. An ideal that says we must have opportunity to learn, freedom to learn our history, freedom to read books by pulitzer prizewinning authors even when they challenge and make some people uncomfortable. That will we are in a country today where we are still struggling to have a pair right to vote and when we talk about Educational Opportunities, when we talk about whether and how we create more opportunities for every single american without regard to where they live, without they guard to without regard to how many resources they have and without regard to the color of their skin and the longstanding history of throwing up barriers in the face of too many of our communities because of how we look, because of our languages of our nations of origin. This is the time we say President Joe Biden is right. He is right to say that this is not a normal court. He is right to say that we have ideals that we have not lived up to and he is absolutely right to say that we can and we must continue to ensure that every single one of our children has the opportunity to get the education they deserve and they have earned and President Biden, in his press conference we watched together, demonstrate our knowledge and understanding of the you miss admissions process of harvard and university of North Carolina that outstrips the description that we saw and the understanding that the Supreme Court shared in their committee has opinion and the Ketanji Brown jackson in her dissent is right. We are a society that wants our country, that what we look like does not impede opportunity but we do not live in it and that is why we will fight together and unify an outlet those who try to fit our communities against one another to succeed. But that, i went to ask damon humid with that, i want to ask damon hewitt. This is a challenging day, not just for students, not just advocates but a challenging day for this nation. Today, the United States Supreme Court got it wrong. My organization was founded by president kennedy in 1963, a pivotal summer for this civilrights unit. It was founded with a racially integrated group of lawyers came together to put skin in the game to advance civil rights. It is not even Clear Organization could have been founded or floors over the hills founded or floors over those years. This court decided not to fully overrule the president. It did not affirm a longstanding president prece dent. And did something in the middle through eight tortured interpretation. The court has taken the law and put us in a pretzel. One must engage in mental gymnastics to understand the logical purpose of todays decision. To understand what university what a university and college is supposed to do with this ruling which puts them into such confusion to what they are supposed to do. That is a decision, this is a decision that is not just confounding of the law but it is morally bankrupt and intellectually dishonest. Lets be clear about how we got here. For decades upon decades, ever since affirmative action existed, and opponents opponents have been trying to end it. Almost every time they lost. When you make up a fake organization, when fifth spread false narratives about a dichotomy between diversity and merit and when you tell students they are being hurt, that is how you get to this point and when you have a super majority, some of whom in this court are more than willing to take up this pursuit of a race Blind Society that does not match the lived experience of students, higher ed professionals, and doesnt match these brands of many jurors on the federal courts the the experience of many jurors on the federal courts. This court cannot and will not have the last word. Lets be clear. This decision is not a good one but he could have been worse. At the very least, the court has rejected the full throated race blindness approach. Their whole selves. You know what we would do . Will do . We will continue to encourage students to do the same and force the issue because no matter what this ruling says, we have to be clear, that affirmative action is a tool but the prizes Racial Equity and justice and opportunity for all, especially for those who have been historically marginalized. We will continue to fight and no matter what this cortez, nothing can be can deprive us of what we call our race conscious future, the feature that students deserve because affirmative action is that a handout, it is not even a hand up. It is what students deserve when they bring their whole selves to the table. We have to be clear about what this case is not about. There are a lot of folks out there predicting and saying the sky is falling and now no school can engage in any type of race conscious admissions. They are saying businesses cannot pursuit diversity, equity and inclusion programs. We had to dispel those myths. We are healed here to give the critical advice but this is not a moment for retreat. We are under attack from all sides. The opponents that we are facing are not just antiwoke, they are antivote and antiopportunity and counter majoritarian. This is a time where we need a whole of society approach. I was heartened to see here President Biden speak about continuing the fight. We call upon Higher Education to revisit its own stance and look and relief because of race conscious admissions does some of the work but not all the work. We need universities to address legacy admissions and overreliance on standardized tests that under predict among black and brown students. That is the civil rights violation. We will not rest for that. We want to lift up students who looked up and be their beautiful selves and we need higher eds to say you are embraced and you are welcome. We need businesses to do the same. Every entity that spoke up after george floyd was murdered, keep doing the work. Dont backslide. Now is not the time to retreat. Nothing can deprive us of our race conscious student and nothing can deprive us of black and brown students of the future they deserve. Thank you. Best buy said that diversity is our nation President Biden said that the diversity is our nations greatest strength. The court made it more difficult for us to tap into, leverage that strength to make a safer and stronger, to make a strength to make a safer and stronger and to make us a more perfect union. The court undermined the auburn opportunity. They have said it is lawful, they said it is consonant with the poker session clause. The only change was the composition of the court. It is now a conservative majority that dictates the policymaking that is coming out of the court and todays decision in the diversity of North Carolina and harvard admissions policies is a demonstration of how far a field the cortes gone. As my colleagues have said, we will not let this be the last word and it is important we recommit to the work of diversity equity and inclusion and todays decision makes that moral imperative that much more critical. All of our students, all of the people who occupy the next generation in this country, who will be our next leaders, who will be our next voters, deserve to be in classrooms where they see one another, where they learn from one another, where they develop understanding and respect for one another and for differing viewpoints. That is the strength of diversity. And this court, today, undermined one of the most important legal decisions that this country has ever known, if not the most important. Brown v. Board of education had the privilege of litigating and winning in 1954. Justice sotomayor quoted Thurgood Marshall in her dissent in this decision and said that as the architect of the ground brown litigation, Thurgood Marshall was clear. Brown did not mean that we have to be colorblind. Brown was all about recognizing, confronting racial eat and equality in saying that the government can play a role in addressing it. Institutions can play a role, universities, schools can play a role. That is what race conscious admissions does. It takes qualified students and allows them to tell their story. It allows admissions professionals to continue the stories and what enrichment can bring to the clap to the classroom and admit students to create a vibrant exchange in the marketplace . In place of ideas in institutions of Higher Educations. The Supreme Court took this opportunity to allow extreme conservative organizations to dictate how we should important the equal protection clause and how it should interpret this longstanding precedent that is nearly 70 years old of brown v. Board of education. We are alarmed by this decision, but it is not in any way change what we are allowed to do in thinking about how race intersects with ones identity and how it influences ones lived experiences. I say this directly to the students and directly to the University President s, directly to the admissions professionals. The court said nothing in todays opinion says that a student or applicant cannot use race as part of their admissions submission to explain their lived experience and to talk about how it has impacted their lives the anniversary and the adversity they may have had to overcome. The experience in this country that has a history of racial this racial discrimination. While we are dismayed by this decision, we are also clear about the mandate that we have before that us and that is not to abandon the project up diversity but to double down on it because that is where our democracy requires. We have an opportunity to make sure that this decision does not undermine the efforts of decades of ligand ignition of litigation, Organization Organizing and progress for america. I want to think the students we represent, the Legal Defense fund will stop we represent 25 organizations that will represents thousands of students, who are black and brown and indigenous and asian and white. Students and faculties that believe in the principle of diversity and have been with us. It is their future that we are fighting for and we will not abandon and it is their future that the court undermined in some ways but we will not let that be the last word. Thank you. Hello. I am the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with Asian Americans advancing justice. We are deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court came down today on the wrong side of protecting educational access and instead opted to resurrect barriers to Higher Education and support systemic racism. I am here today representing Asian Americans advancing justice to say we will not stop working to ensure equitable role access we note that the majority of Asian Americans support affirmative action policies. 69 of Asian Americans favorite affirmative action in education. What this means is that Asian Americans advancing justice and the majority of Asian American committees will work with our allies to push educational and intrusion to create more opportunities for students of color to enter their schools of choice, do not let this ruling be an end to talented students getting into schools like harvard and unc and to ensure our future leaders of the country represent the multiracial makeup of our society. Our nations future depends on races internet disease is gather to achieve diversity in Higher Education and of thriving multiracial democracy. Having multiracial diversity helps everyone including Asian Americans, diversity brings us new perspectives. It is important to remember that talent is everywhere and it is incumbent on all of us to ensure we create real pathways to unlock that talent in every student, no matter what community they come from. I have a specific message for those Asian Americans who joined them in this court case. I am now calling you into our movement to ensure no student in a community of color is discriminated against or marginalized because of todays ruling. You have an obligation to create a new and better system than the one you helped dismantle. We we must work to improve our schools so that all children have safe access to quality education and resources and opportunities because we know our Public School system is besieged with inequalities. School boards make efforts to increase agent opportunities for we as Asian Americans cannot erase history to fit a contrived narrative of beating a model minority. We cannot preach against antiasian violence while ignoring the real dangers that face lgbtq and nonbinary youth. We will not let anticivilrights and elitist cronies win in the end. As we achieve greater levels of diversity and success, there will be those trying to find ways to undermined undermine or dismantle our achievements. To all college students, those preparing for charge and there for college and their families, do not be discouraged. We will call out congress, corporate boards and your own colleges and universities to secure your rights to access Higher Education. Join with us and our amazing leaders to keep building the movement to expand Educational Opportunity for everyone. We are here to say to all of those who will try to further undermine our civil rights, you can enjoy today but in the days to come, are committees will prevail. As we take time to understand this Supreme Court decision, we urge you to not give up. We will continue the fight with more energy and even more conviction. Join us in this fight to keep the doors of Educational Opportunity open for all. Next i would like to bring up the president and general counsel of Latino Justice. Good afternoon. Todays decision goes against decades of precedent. It betrays our countrys promise of equal access to education and opportunity. We are not going to allow the court or anyone else narrow the opportunities or cattail curtailed the dreams of young people. My organization will not back down from our commitment to break open the doors opportunities for latinos and other students of color. For the last 50 years, we as well as all of the organizations that are represented here as well as many others who are not here today, we have worked tirelessly to break down barriers and support our youth in gaining access to college and graduate school and we will continue to do so. We are saying to our young people, you belong in a piece elite institutions, you are qualified to be in this is a two shins, you have earned the right to be there and we will support your success there. All of us know that elite institutions of Higher Education are pathways to positions of great power in our country. All you have to do is look at the Supreme Court itself. Throughout its history, the vast majority of justices have intended attended a handful of the top law schools in the country. Todays decision is not based in very fairness and is not about merit and it is not about creating a racially just society or upholding equal protection. This decision is another blatant attempt by those with power and privilege to do whatever they can to hold onto that power and privilege. We cannot allow them to deny our children the same opportunities and pathways to leadership positions and a our society that their children have enjoyed, positions that will give our people a bigger say in the future direction of our country and our democracy. We are here to tell those with power and privilege that you have to share. We will not allow you to rollback decades of progress one by hard work and perseverance. Access to education is one the greatest drivers of success not just or individuals but for families and communities. We know that investing in more pathways and opportunities leads to two true liberty and justice. Racial diversity and Higher Education helps set a Stronger Foundation for a multiracial democracy, a term that my colleague uses frequently and i love. We will continue to fight for that little goal. We urge universities to invest in the polys and policies and programs. There is a lot that we cant do and we in universities must can do and we in diversities must do to ensure students have access to these opportunities so we call on everyone today to ensure those doors stay open. I will turn over to my esteemed colleague, director of education from the Lawyers Committee who also argued the case before the Supreme Court. Thank you. October 31 of last year, we walked into the hallowed chambers of the Supreme Court. We were the organization to help bring in the voices of the civil rights community. Voices of students who have participated and testified in the case about their own experiences with the race about an and the incredible challenges they faced at the university of North Carolina and students we represented in the harvard case. The decision that has been reached today, this has been said somebody times before, but it is appropriate today, it is a travesty of justice. We know in the hearts of law that there is hard heart and science to the law. The Supreme Court decision puts a helluva lot more heart into the law. It ignores 40 plus years of experience where universities have tried to administer race consistent with the standards that the Supreme Court has applied. They have gotten rid of quotas, they have gotten rid of severed admission separate admission tracks. It provides opportunities for those students who otherwise may be overlooked in a very unfair admissions progress because of the gross inequities in the k12 systems that are carried forward. What more specifically about this decision. One person mentioned the discussion around brown v. Board of education. That is one of the grossest miscarriages of justice, by trying to suggest that programs that are intended to bring students together across races and at densities races and ethnicities, to try to Grow Together and try to scare share their experiences that inform that of their colleagues and peers, that is somehow contrary to what brown v. Board of education was written for and the problems it was addressing . Hardly not. Justice thomas, who goes further with his extreme colorblindness into rotation. Colorblindness interpretation. There were many that would argue about this absurd colorblind constitution that existed and while they did do a gross injustice, two to equal protection clause which was an antisubjugation clause and was to preserve people opportunities to people who were long treated differently but also enslaved and had environments enacted against them, merely because of their race. It wasnt individuals but america involved in those gross injustices. We have a decision again, to be clear, it is not overruling has made it harder if the university is going to consider race as a plus factor, not just consider racialized experiences, universities have been and will always be free to consider those. Where those universities want to consider race as a plus factor, and has made it a heck of a lot harder but it has not totally banned affirmative action. When this court wants to overrule president , president precedent, and knows how to do it. We know opposition will push forward antiright summarized agendas by programs and the like are all in pectin impacted but that is not true. This court should have could have said it. As Justice Thomas alluded to but he stands alone in that majority opinion and that the in that opinion. The majority opinion does not restart far but it does do an incredible this service to the true intent behind the meaningful protection clause. The opinion also says that military academies may continue to pursue the educational benefits of diversity, through diverse admission practices consistent with its military measures missions. That is clearly authorized under this court opinion. Lastly, and this has been alluded to regarding a racialized experience, this is chief Justice Roberts words. He says all parties agree nothing in this opinion shall be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicants decision on how race affected his or her life via through this termination, inspiration through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise. I make that point because that exactly what many of our clients testified to. That substantial record has zero student testimony, sterile serial faculty testimony supporting zero faculty testimony supporting its decision. Our clients braved all that you have to when you walk into a federal court to present testimony, knowing that you yourself will be scrutinized and knowing that your testimony we scrutinize but they knew it was important to lift up how and why race impacted their decisions, how and why their consideration of the race was so meaningful and why it or how it showed they were valued and welcomed at the university. That should not change. We call upon the universities themselves to continue to engage in substantial outreach in recruitment of underserved students and underserved communities all across the country. They can do that previously and they should continue to do that, nothing in this opinion prohibits that. They should also work with communities to ensure their comprehensive policies around recruitment, admissions, finance support, academic support, counseling, all the way through through networking. They should work with their communities to ensure all of their practices are aligned with motions of fairness and justice. That is not prohibited by this opinion. Finally, for those that do not want to visit their own systemic barriers they have presented, we are putting them on notice. They want to continue those legacy admissions programs . They continue to grant unearned privilege to people simply because they are an alumni . Let them continue do that. Continue to do that. We will change that. The test stores dont show much about the value might be exhibit a when it comes to the lsat. It is a long story, i skipped a question on the test. [laughter] those dont determine someones value. They dont determine someones talent. We will challenge them. So they can make it easy and do the changes by themselves. Or we can do it the hard way. We are prepared to do whatever it takes because history is on our side. Justice is on our side, the majority is on our side of ensuring equal Educational Opportunity for all and that goes also, not just to colleges but k12 schools as well. They need to revisit their inequitable funding systems and their disproportionate School Policies and their own separate nation their own segregation policies and if they dont, we will be there that they are held accountable under our civil rights laws. We will open up to questions. Any questions . Questions . Having them, we thank you for being here. I want to close on a reminder. Two davids point. 43 of admissions between 2009 and 2014 at harvard were white student submitted because they were legacy, because they were athletic, often times like fencing and squash that are not able at schools dominated by low income students of color. When we say race blind, what we say is privileging those who are perfect privileged often because of history and wealth and that is why today we are saying this is about all children. Like what President Biden says and he was all right from appalachia to atlanta. Thank you for being here and thank you for being in the fight to all of you were watching and we will stay in it with you. Have a good day