Affirmative Action Debate News: Justice Sonia Sotomayor Slams Colleagues, Says They Want To 'Wish Away' Racial Inequality

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld Michigan's ban of affirmative action in college admissions in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, 12-682. In a 6-2 ruling, the justices deemed that the voters in Michigan had the right to alter their state constitution, as they had done in 2006, to prohibit using race as a factor in colleg eadmissions in public colleges and universities.

"This case is not about how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved. It is about who may resolve it," said Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The two justices that defended affirmative action were Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, while Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Thomas sided with Kennedy.

In a 58-page dissent, Sotomayor accuses her colleagues of trying to "wish away" racial inequality in America. She read part of her dissent from the bench to vocalize her disagreement with her peers. She took direct aim at Roberts's 2007 opinion that “the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

“This refusal to accept the stark reality that race matters is regrettable,” Sotomayor wrote. “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race, and to apply the Constitution with eyes open to the unfortunate effects of centuries of racial discrimination.”

She added: “As members of the judiciary tasked with intervening to carry out the guarantee of equal protection, we ought not sit back and wish away, rather than confront, the racial inequality that exists in our society.”

Since the ban against affirmative action has been placed in effect, Black and Latino enrollment at the University of Michigan has taken a hit. A similar trend has been seen in California, which has also banned race-based college admissions, amongst incoming Black students, but there has been an increase in Latino enrollment.