Affirmative Action’s Labor Roots
Affirmative action was a hard-won victory by left-labor activists. It must be defended.
Vivian Malone, one of the first African-Americans to attend the university, entering Foster Auditorium to register for classes at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963.Warren K. Leffler / US News & World Report Magazine
Justice Antonin Scalia got deservedly slammed when, in a line of questioning in Fisher v. Texas, he voiced doubts about the intelligence of African Americans, suggesting that blacks would generally be better served by attending less competitive universities. Scalia’s Charles Murray–esque reflections on the capabilities of black people are outrageous, but the fact that the US Supreme Court has chosen to hear Fisher v. Texas in the first place is far more alarming.
In 2008, Abigail Fisher — who hails from Sugarland, an upscale Houston suburb — filed a lawsuit alleging she had been denied admission to University of Texas–Austin because of race conscious admissions policies.
As many others have noted, Fisher was not denied admission to UT-Austin because of affirmative action.
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