Olatunde Johnson (’97), Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59 Professor of Law and the co-director of the Center for Constitutional Governance at Columbia Law School, contributed an article to Time discussing the Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action ruling that limits the capacity of universities to consider applicants’ race and ethnicity in admissions (“The Supreme Court’s Decision on Affirmative Action Must Not Be the Final Word,” June 29). “While a legal blow, the Supreme Court’s decision should not — and need not — be the final word. Our collective legal and democratic responsibility to address the racial and ethnic inequalities that persist in the U.S. education system is as important as ever. Because what the Supreme Court does not have the power to do is erase the history or language of our civil rights laws, or the principles underlying them.”
