Does America Need Affirmative Action?

Join ISI at the University of Alabama Student Center Auditorium as we ask these timely questions.

Randall Kennedy vs Jason Riley moderated by Christine Emba

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Students for Fair Admission vs. Harvard overturned affirmative action in college admissions. Though affirmative action has long been unpopular with the American public, the policy, which is designed to improve minority admission rates to colleges and universities, strikes at a bedrock principle of American politics since the civil rights revolution: diversity. The majority opinion in Students for Fair Admission ended affirmative action, but did not prohibit considering race or other features of diversity as part of universities’ admission policies; thus, the question of diversity and merit is still in play. How important is diversity in college admissions? What criteria are appropriate and fair for deciding who attends which college? What is the remedy for past discrimination? What does racial justice look like?