Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears has joined a brief of amici curiae in support of Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. University of North Carolina, et al, Nos. 20-1199 and 20-707, recognizing the need to enforce the time limits acknowledged by the Court in Grutter vs. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003), which approves certain types of educational Affirmative Action programs, and enshrined into constitutional law the permissibility of racial discrimination by government entities, thereby violating the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“It is time to end the policies of college selection based on race, which is counter to equal treatment under the law. University-sponsored and supported charter schools, the expansion of scholarships for low-income students, and improved student testing methods will help provide increased diversity at universities,” Earle-Sears stated, adding, “The right to a good education doesn’t come at the expense of denying another the right as well. We learn from history that we don’t learn from history. We are not about to deny educational rights to Asian children. Rather, we must ensure that all children have access to educational opportunities.”
Lieutenant Governor Robinson of North Carolina joins the amicus brief. Amici are statewide African American elected officials from two different states. These states not only formed part of the Confederacy but also enacted and then enforced Jim Crow laws until the 1960s. Both of these states have increasingly diverse populations, and both amici have experience working toward improvements in education in their respective states.
