Michelle Obama Slams Supreme Court’s Ruling Ending Affirmative Action

Former First Lady Michelle Obama slammed the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday that banned affirmative action in higher education. She recalls how she struggled to fit in college as she was one of the only black students at Princeton. 

She posted a statement on Twitter saying, “I wanted to share some of my thoughts on today’s Supreme Court decision on affirmative action.” 

“I was one of the few Black students on my campus and I was proud of getting into such a respected school. I knew I’d worked hard for it. But still, I sometimes wondered if people thought I got there because of affirmative action. It was a shadow that students like me couldn’t shake, whether those doubts came from the outside or inside our own minds.” 

Obama continued to speak about how over the years black college students like her began to feel and show that they belonged. Additionally, all students benefited from affirmative action, not just black students. 

“It wasn’t just the kids of color who benefited, either. Every student who heard a perspective they might not have encountered, who had an assumption challenged, who had their minds and their hearts opened gained a lot as well,” she continued.

Obama did acknowledge that affirmative action allowed students to be given “special consideration for admissions.” She questioned why preferential admission for the child of alumni was widely accepted and not questioned, but affirmative action is. 

“Others go to high schools with lavish resources for tutors and extensive standardized test prep that help them score high on college entrance exams. We don’t usually question if those students belong. So often, we just accept that money, power, and privilege are perfectly justifiable forms of affirmative action, while kids growing up like I did are expected to compete when the ground is anything but level.” 

Obama ended her statement by wishing the best for future students who are worried about getting into college and their future. 

“My heart breaks for any young person out there who’s wondering what their future holds – and what kinds of chances will be open to them. And while I know the strength and grit that lies inside kids who have always had to sweat a little more to climb the same ladders, I hope and I pray that the rest of us are willing to sweat a little, too,” she said. 

The Supreme Court ruled that the affirmative action programs at colleges like the University of North Carolina and Harvard violate the Fourteenth Amendment by hampering public and private colleges’ ability to consider race when admitting students. 

Michelle and her husband Barack Obama are both supporters of affirmative action and released a joint press statement reiterating this. 

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Barack wrote on Twitter, “Affirmative action was never a complete answer in the drive towards a more just society. But for generations of students who had been systematically excluded from most of America’s key institutions—it gave us the chance to show we more than deserved a seat at the table. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, it’s time to redouble our efforts.”

The court’s decision did have supporters, including former President Donald Trump, who released a statement saying, “This is the ruling everyone was waiting and hoping for and the result was amazing.”