Affirmative Action Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

For over half a century, Affirmative Action has woven its way into the fabric of our society through nondiscrimination policies and initiatives aimed at establishing equal opportunity for women, people of color, and other minorities across schools and the workplace.

Over the years, courts and colleges have repeatedly clashed over the role of race in admissions policies. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld Affirmative Action programs – most recently in 2016, and this year, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases on the question of whether race-conscious admissions programs are lawful. And with a conservative majority on the bench, there is a real risk that Affirmative Action will be found unconstitutional.

Joining us today is Amber Hikes, the ACLU’s Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, to talk about the potential impact of this decision on culture and practice, the importance of moving beyond “checking boxes,” and how they’ve developed and lived these values in their own life.

Listener Note: We’re launching a three-week “Ask an Expert” podcast series about all things free speech: online censorship and deplatforming, campus speech and cancel culture and education and book bans. So here’s where you come in. We want to answer your questions! What does the law say about social media companies deplatforming users? Does our constitution support cancel culture? If you have a question you’d like us to answer, call us and leave us a message at 212-549-2558 or email us at podcast@aclu.org.