Nola Reporter

NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell, along with the Mayor's Office's summer interns, shared the following statements on the Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action in college admission decisions:

"Affirmative action, in its current form, has granted fair access to high quality education for people of color and women in our country for six decades,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “Going back further in our history, affirmative action policies had been in place after slavery was abolished to help rebuild our country and lift up our most marginalized and disenfranchised people so that everyone could have an equal chance in achieving the American Dream of prosperity and independence. The Supreme Court's decision today will have consequences far outside the halls of higher education institutions. Our minority youth, especially women and those from a lower socioeconomic class, deserve the opportunity to receive a higher education from an esteemed university or college in order to set themselves on a path to success. We have so many brilliant young minds across our nation, and they should not suffer due to barriers that they had no hand in erecting."

“The Supreme Court’s decision is taking away protection from discrimination,” said Tyjah Porter, a spring 2023 graduate of Edna Karr High School who will study social sciences at Delgado Community College in the fall. “Now, more affluent students will get in, and by removing affirmative action, those institutions are less likely to promote and target minorities which will further negatively impact the education disparities in America.”

“The Supreme Court restricting the use of race in college admissions is a very bad decision,” said Christopher Thomas, a rising senior at McDonogh 35 High School. “What they may not realize is that this will affect white women more than any other group of people because they benefitted the most from affirmative action. We know that the Supreme court removed affirmative action simply because it was helping more Black people get into colleges; however, it was created because Black people were already at a disadvantage with less access to adequate schooling, leading to historically receiving lower test scores and making it harder for us to get accepted into nearly any college at all. Now, they have just made it even harder, and institutions are less likely to promote and target diversity, equity and inclusion, which only moves this country backwards, not forward."

“Affirmative action not only affected people of color but also people with disabilities and countless minorities that wanted and hoped for a good education,” said Amelia Kogan, a spring 2023 graduate of De La Salle High school who will study English and sociology at Loyola University of New Orleans. “Affirmative action paved the way for students to be welcomed in colleges with open arms. It gave so many people a chance at higher education when it was not readily available for them. It gave them hope. In many communities, education isn’t prioritized, so affirmative action took some of the merit out of college decisions and provided opportunities. Although I know that, as a white woman, I benefit the most from this and never had to think about how it benefits me, I sympathize with people who it affects openly.”

Original source can be found here.