affirmative action
Arkansas’ Griffin joins four AGs in warning law firms to end race-based hiring practices
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin joined a group of GOP attorneys general in warning 100 of the nation’s largest law firms against using race-based hiring practices for employment and contract workers. The nine-page letter sent on Tuesday to executives of American Lawyer 100 Firms calls for the firms to “refrain from discriminating on the basis […]
Arkansas lawmakers will file ethics complaint against Central Arkansas Water
The Arkansas Legislature’s investigative committee will file an ethics complaint against Central Arkansas’ public water utility over a staff email advocating against controversial affirmative action legislation earlier this year. The email in question was sent by Central Arkansas Water’s “justice, equity, diversity and inclusion” team in March, urging utility employees to ask their state representatives […]
Arkansas senator discusses plans for DEI legislation in 2025 session
Arkansas officials are collecting information on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts at colleges and universities in preparation for presenting legislation on the issue during the 2025 legislative session. At a meeting of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s higher education subcommittee on Thursday, co-chair Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, told lawmakers that officials are looking at DEI […]
Biden administration provides guidance on diversity in college admissions
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and Department of Education jointly released guidance on Monday to colleges and universities about how to consider race in admissions decisions, following the Supreme Court’s summer decision that struck down affirmative action in higher education. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, on a call with reporters, said higher education institutions can […]
Attorneys general threaten Fortune 100 companies with legal action for race-based policies
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is leading a coalition warning the nation’s largest companies — many of which have diversity and equity programs — they could face legal action for using race-based policies. A Thursday letter from Skrmetti, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and 11 other attorneys general put Fortune 100 companies on notice they […]
Campus diversity will be a struggle without race-based admissions, history shows
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the list of states that have implemented automatic admission programs for top-performing high school students. States that have tried to enroll more Black and Hispanic students in state universities without using race-based admissions policies have seen the numbers of those students slip — especially at elite […]
A 2003 Supreme Court decision upholding affirmative action planted the seeds of its overturning
In an anticipated but nonetheless stunning decision expected to have widespread implications on college campuses and workplaces across the country, the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, 2023, outlawed affirmative action programs that were designed to correct centuries of racist disenfranchisement in higher education. In the majority opinion about the constitutionality […]
‘This is not a normal court,’ says Biden as GOP opponents praise affirmative action ruling
WASHINGTON — Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively scrambles the role affirmative action plays in the college admissions process cannot let the country slide “backwards,” President Joe Biden said just hours after the majority justices released their opinion. Meanwhile, Republicans seeking to challenge him in 2024 praised the decision. Issues of race and higher […]
US Supreme Court strikes down use of affirmative action in college admissions
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that two prominent universities’ consideration of race in acceptances violated the U.S. Constitution, effectively reshaping the role of affirmative action in the college admissions process throughout higher education. In a 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, wrote that the admissions processes at […]
U.S. Supreme Court poised to dismantle a key part of LBJ’s Great Society – affirmative action
Of all the civil rights policies enacted by U.S President Lyndon Johnson, affirmative action is arguably one of the most enduring — and most challenged. Johnson made it clear during a commencement address at Howard University on June 4, 1965, where he stood. In his speech, “To Fulfill These Rights,” Johnson argued that civil rights […]
Arkansas Senate narrowly passes bill to end state affirmative action programs
State Sen. Dan Sullivan’s bill to “end state-sponsored discrimination” squeaked through the Senate on Thursday by a single vote. Senate Bill 71 now goes to the House for consideration. The bill, which passed the Senate 18-12, prohibits state and local government agencies, including schools and universities, from taking into consideration race, sex, color, ethnicity or […]
Arkansas legislator says ending ‘state-sponsored discrimination’ is aim of his bill
Legislation that criminalizes government affirmative action programs in Arkansas heads to the full Senate after a panel approved it Tuesday. Senate Bill 71 by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Jonesboro would do away with programs that encourage state agencies, public schools and colleges to hire people of color and women. The bill would make it […]