Today, the principle of equal protection under the laws scores a major win at the U.S. Supreme Court! In a 6-to-3 decision, the court has ruled against race-based affirmative action admissions practiced by Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC).

In the newly issued opinion of the court, our nation's highest court writes that "Respondents' admissions systems - however well intentioned and implemented in good faith - fail each of these criteria [of strict scrutiny]. They must therefore be invalidated under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

While Harvard, UNC and their allies insist that race-conscious efforts in admissions must continue in perpetuity to promote diversity, the Supreme Court agrees with the American public that equality means "doing away with all governmentally imposed discrimination based on race."

Alas, America wins! The legal parameters surrounding the use of race in higher education are clarified and tightened to truly reflect our nation's founding principle. This encouraging development echoes the argument CFER has made repeatedly in our amicus brief filings in support of the Students for Fair Admissions: America has a growing and bipartisan national consensus against race-conscious admissions and the court should reflect upon this consensus.

As we celebrate this historic victory for color-blind equal justice, let us remember this hard-fought win is the result of decades-long efforts by courageous civil rights advocates, lawyers, scholars, parents and students. Since the late 1980s, Americans of all walks of life have fought for equality through legal challenges, civil rights complaints, academic research and local organizing. Thanks to all of these tireless endeavors, we as a nation are one step closer to the vision and promise of America's founding fathers!

We also must strengthen our resolve to carry on the fight. In spite of a growing public consensus against race consciousness and the comporting court ruling, politicians are calling for packing the court to counterbalance the conservative justices and condemning the decision as a roadblock for racial justice.

Even before today's court ruling, those from the progressive establishment had started to scheme, conspire and mobilize to sabotage equality. In California, the State Legislature is considering a state constitutional amendment (ACA-7) that would seriously comprise the state's ban on racial preferences. State lawmakers who support the bill use the Supreme Court ruling as an impetus to justify their obsession with race and identity politics. Racial balancing efforts, coupled with equity-themed ideological capture, are rampant at the K-12 level.

We must keep on keeping on! In the coming days and weeks, CFER will release more statements, reports and analyses regarding the Supreme Court rulings in the Harvard and UNC cases. More importantly, we will continue to fight for equality in California by monitoring and opposing ACA-7 and other similar attempts. Please support CFER’s work with a kind donation today!