Baltimore-area universities, organizations react to Supreme Court decision on affirmative action

BALTIMORE -- There is a new concern for the future of Maryland's college-bound students following a decision by the nation's highest court to reverse affirmative action.

In a 6-3 ruling, Supreme Court Justices overturned race-conscious admission policies, a long-standing precedent that benefitted college students of color.

The case was brought on by a conservative group who argued that affirmative action discriminated against White and Asian American applicants.

"The truth of the matter is that race is a fact of life in America in higher education," Jide Ehimika of Baltimore said.

But other Baltimoreans tell WJZ that they agree with the ruling.

"I suspect that there are other ways of getting the same level of diversity without taking race, explicitly into account," David Velleman of Baltimore said.

Many other people stand on the opposite side of the debate, including leaders of one of Baltimore's historically Black universities.

Morgan State University issued a statement saying the institution has never used race as a factor when reviewing applications and doesn't expect the decision to change the diverse culture of the university.

Meanwhile, local elected leaders are raising a flag of concern for the future of young students of color.

Maryland Congressman Kweisi Mfume called the court decision "destructive" and said it "will over time energize a whole new generation of young people to now realize that the issue of race and skin color has not gone away."

"It's much more difficult for the creation of racial diversity in higher education with this decision," University of Baltimore School of Law Professor Michael Higginbotham said.

Higginbotham said other states that had previously banned affirmative action before the court's ruling saw a sharp decline in diversity in higher education.

However, he's hopeful the decision will not stop the fight for equality.

"We'll still get there," Higginbotham said. "The court today, its decision, has made it more difficult. It may take a little longer, but we're still gonna get there."

Johns Hopkins University also made a public statement, saying they will maintain their commitment to maintaining a diverse educational community, amid the Supreme Court decision.