Scalia Says Affirmative Action Sends Black Students To Schools Too Advanced

Scalia Says Affirmative Action Sends Black Students To Schools Too Advanced

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has come under fire for racist remarks he made during the court’s hearing of an affirmative action case, in which he seemed to suggest some African-Americans belong in “less advanced” colleges according to CNN reports:

Scalia was questioning the attorney for the University of Texas, which is defending its use of race as a factor in admissions in the case before the court.

“There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a less — a slower-track school where they do well,” Scalia said, according to the transcript. “One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas.”

The attorney, Gregory G. Garre, tried to interject, but Scalia continued.

“They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them,” Scalia said. “I’m just not impressed by the fact that the University of Texas may have fewer. Maybe it ought to have fewer. And maybe some — you know, when you take more, the number of blacks, really competent blacks, admitted to lesser schools, turns out to be less.”

Garre said the court had already rejected that argument in the past.

“I don’t think the solution to the problems with student body diversity can be to set up a system in which not only are minorities going to separate schools, they’re going to inferior schools,” Garre told Scalia.

The case, Fisher v. Texas, was heard for the second time on Wednesday, and all signs pointed again to a deeply divided court. The first time the case was heard, the justices made a narrow ruling that sent the case back down to the lower courts.

The arguments came as colleges across the country are confronting racial tensions and unrest over perceived unequal treatment of students.

Carrie Severino, chief counsel for the conservative Judicial Crisis Network and a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, defended Scalia, saying he wasn’t implying black students are inferior.

What do you think of Scalia’s comments??