The U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing two cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina that could end affirmative action in higher education. The National Constitution Center hosted a live program on May 4, 2023, featuring a conversation between constitutional law experts William B. Allen of Michigan State University and Hasan Kwame Jeffries of The Ohio State University. They discuss the history of affirmative action, the current cases before the Court, how the Court might rule in them, and how the outcome of the two cases could affect the future of affirmative action programs across the country. Host Jeffrey Rosen moderates.
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This episode was produced by John Guerra, Tanaya Tauber, Lana Ulrich, and Bill Pollock. It was engineered by the National Constitution Center’s AV team. Research was provided by Sam Desai, Lana Ulrich and the Constitutional Content Team.
Participants
William B. Allen is a resident scholar and the former chief operating officer of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. He is also emeritus professor of political philosophy in the department of political science and emeritus dean of the James Madison College at Michigan State University. He previously served on the U.S. National Council for the Humanities, as chairman and member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and as chairman and co-founder of Toward A Fair Michigan. He has published extensively and his most recent book is The State of Black America: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Promise of the Republic (2022).
Hasan Kwame Jeffries is associate professor of history at The Ohio State University. He is the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s Black Belt (2009), the editor of Understanding and Teaching the Civil Rights Movement (2019), and his current book project is In the Shadow of Civil Rights. He hosts the podcast “Teaching Hard History” and has also contributed to several documentary film projects, including the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary Black America Since MLK.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (Oral Argument Transcript; audio hosted by C-SPAN)
- Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina (Oral Argument Transcript; audio hosted by C-SPAN)
- William B. Allen, “End of Affirmative Action 2023”
- Interview with Hasan Kwame Jeffries, “Why Conservatives want the Supreme Court to take up Affirmative Action Case,” Yahoo!News
- National Constitution Center, “Affirmative Action and the 14th Amendment – Part 1,” We the People podcast
- National Constitution Center, “Affirmative Action and the 14th Amendment – Part 2,” We the People podcast
- Fisher v. University of Texas (2013)
- Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
- Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
- Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971)
- Slaughter-House Cases (1873)
- Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
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