The issue of reverse discrimination first reached the nation’s highest court in the 1970s, when a student with good grades named Allan Bakke accused a University of California medical school of twice denying him admission because he was White.
Strict racial quotas were unconstitutional, the court said – affirmative action was not. But that ruling far from decided what many considered the big-picture issue: does protecting minorities discriminate against the majority?
More than 30 years, and scores of lawsuits later, the question remains unanswered. Meanwhile, more Americans came to believe that affirmation action is no longer necessary and that, instead of leveling the playing field for minorities, it unfairly punishes Whites.
Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case filed by White firefighters who claimed they were denied promotion because of the color of their skin.
“The laws that Congress wrote are clear – everyone is protected from racial discrimination,” said Roger Clegg, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank that advocates eliminating race and ethnic considerations. “Not just Blacks, but Whites. Not just Latinos, but Whites.”
Those who favor affirmative action say race divisions still exist in this country, 40 years after the civil rights movement.
“Race so permeates society that you can’t ignore it,” said Dennis Parker, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Racial Justice Project.
