As the country awaits a ruling from the Supreme Court on the future of affirmative action in higher education, the UNC community is particularly invested. The school was sued by a group of applicants nearly a decade ago over its consideration of race as a part of their admissions. And on Tuesday, a few blocks away from campus, several visitors came to town to promote not just affirmative action, but reform at the Supreme Court to improve representation.
Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Kermit Roosevelt III, and Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger gathered on West Franklin Street Tuesday afternoon for a joint address. They were there as part of the ongoing Just Majority bus tour across the country, hosted by an advocacy group pushing for change and expansion of the highest court in the U.S.
“We are here today to help spread the word,” said Hemminger, as she helped begin the press conference, “to help make people understand there are things to do to improve the Supreme Court, so that we get the justice that is fair and equitable for everyone.”
The event happened as the nation awaits justices’ ruling on lawsuits brought by the anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions. While that group maintains that UNC’s consideration of race is discriminatory against Asian American and white students, the university says it’s a voluntary part of applications and promotes diversity on campus.
The Just Majority bus was parked right across from the town’s marker for the Chapel Hill Nine, recognizing the group of teenagers who took a stand against segregation in 1960 by holding a sit-in at the Colonial Drug Store. Sharpton commended their efforts and said, like those activists’ fight, he believes the need for changes at the Supreme Court is a non-partisan issue.
“When you can see a court based on partisanship take away a women’s right to choose,” said Sharpton, “and may take away affirmative action and other rights, it’s time for us to expand the court and expand the options of justice, civil, and human rights.”
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger speaks at a press conference on West Franklin Street on Tuesday, June 13. The event was part of a bus tour for the Just Majority advocacy group.
Hemminger speaks at a podium surrounding by visiting civil rights activists near the marker for the Chapel Hill Nine on West Franklin Street.
The civil rights leader’s comments referenced the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling that overturned the federal protections on abortion access and reproductive care. All the speakers Tuesday pointed to that decision – and its leaked opinion months early – as an example of how some justices may be influenced by extreme ideologies and don’t represent the majority of Americans.
King said he believes reality is “not in the vicinity” of what his father wished to achieve for the country. He pointed to more partisanship on courts as a reason for that and said there’s no law preventing the U.S. from expanding the Supreme Court to more seats. If that happened, King suggested that fewer human and civil rights would be impeded on.
“We often went to the Supreme Court for relief over the years,” he said. “By and large, the court looked forward. But at the Dobbs decision in 2022 that took away women’s rights, the court chose to look backward.”
Arndrea King echoed this, saying she believes children today have lost rights compared to just the generation prior. And she said if justices strike down affirmative action, it would further that erosion by undermining racial equity.
“In the Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions vs. UNC [cases],” she said, “the court could wreak havoc on the ability of minority students to obtain an education that puts them on equal playing field with their peers.
“Democracy is not about special rights,” King added. “It’s about the right to exist.”
Sharpton warned of the challenges no affirmative action could create for HBCUs, leading to intense division of students and a further division in funding efforts. He also said if it’s struck down for higher education, it’s likely the private sector would also be affected in its hiring practices.
“Private businesses are being boycotted for just saying they’re ‘woke,’” said the reverend. “So just imagine [what would happen] if you say you want to have racial equality, if this court [rules] that way. You would be in many ways penalized, and I think that’s the dangerous of this decision.”
From left: Arndrea Waters King, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Martin Luther King III listen to a speaker during their joint press conference in Chapel Hill for court reform.
After the event, Hemminger said she’s been anticipating the ruling on Students for Fair Admissions v. UNC all month. With the town’s close connection to the university, she said it values diversity and inclusion in education like Carolina does.
“Not being able to have as diverse a campus means the town will lack that diverse student population as well,” said Hemminger. “And students are a huge part of our population, so we have huge concerns on these rulings.”
For a video of Tuesday’s press conference, visit the Just Majority Facebook page.
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Goodness, Al sure does look better since he did away with that “Soul Glo” hair grease gunk he used to put on his hair.