Affirmative Action Guidance Is Welcome First Step, More Action from the Departments of Education and Justice Is Urgently Needed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mattie Goldman, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Liz King, senior program director, education equity, at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s affirmative action guidance:

“The civil rights guidance released today provides a much needed reminder that the Supreme Court’s wrongly decided majority opinion on June 29 did nothing to limit the ongoing obligation colleges and universities have to protect students from discrimination. Although the Court erected new barriers to the pursuit of diversity, institutions of higher education can and must still take action to promote diversity and ensure equal opportunity. This guidance must be a beginning and not an ending. We call on the Departments of Education and Justice to robustly use every tool at their disposal to remove the entrenched roots and sprawling branches of segregation and discrimination that limit opportunity for many and progress for us all. We cannot allow the bigoted few who are committed to turning back the clock on racial progress to distort the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act. Racial equity and diversity in higher education is a national imperative and we must all work together to achieve that goal.” 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org. 

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