A reminder that racism is not over

By Dr. Russ Wigginton

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Yesterday’s landmark Supreme Court decision to reject race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions reminds us that the struggle for racial justice and equality continues and is ever-present. This decision creates serious challenges to bring racial equity to the nation’s institutions of higher education and undermines the decades of work that has been done to address systemic racism in our schools.

The Fourth of July holiday is meant to bring Americans together to celebrate the promise of our Declaration of Independence. This year we are reminded again of the work that still needs to be done to make our nation live up to its ideals.

In the opening to her dissent to the majority’s ruling in favor falls short of actualizing one of its foundational principles— the ‘self-evident’ truth that all of us are created equal.”

A few sentences later she wrote: “Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) has maintained, both subtly and overtly, that it is unfair for a college’s admissions process to consider race as one factor in a holistic review of its applicants… This contention blinks both history and reality in ways too numerous to count.

“But the response is simple: Our country has never been colorblind. Given the lengthy history of state-sponsored race-based preferences in America, to say that anyone is now victimized if a college considers whether that legacy of discrimination has unequally advantaged its applicants fails to acknowledge the welldocumented ‘intergenerational transmission of inequality’ that still plagues our citizenry.”

In 1954, the Supreme Court struck down state-sanctioned segregation in public schools and found it unconstitutional. And the Civil Rights Act of 1964 went even further to protect the integration of schools and other public places.

It has been almost six decades since the latter decision, and although schools are not legally segregated today, we continue to see significant disparities throughout our educational system and low representation of Black and Brown students in most higher education institutions.

This recent Supreme Court decision is a poignant reminder won. You earn it and win it in every generation. That is what we have not taught young people, or older ones for that matter. You do not finally win a state of freedom that is protected forever. It doesn’t work that way.” that the critical work to correct the generational impacts of our country’s long history of systemic racism is not finished.

Our mission and ongoing work at the National Civil Rights Museum to educate visitors on the American Civil Rights Movement and inspire positive social change is more important than ever. The National Civil Rights Museum will continue to highlight the monumental efforts of generations of civil and human rights leaders and serve as our local and national community’s public square—a place where we all can come together to do the work that must continue to create more diverse, equitable and inclusive opportunities for all.

As Coretta Scott King wisely shared, “Freedom is never really

We invite you to visit www. civilrightsmuseum.org to learn more and join our collective efforts.