The Supreme Court is taking on affirmative action again in a case that involves the University of Texas. Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the court’s staunchest conservatives was questioning a lawyer arguing for race being a factor that should be incorporated into the admission process. During that questioning, Scalia made these comments:
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.”
“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.”
Naturally, this didn’t sit well with Black students, who have been protesting the treatment they receive at predominantly white institutions most of the current academic year, with a notable protest leading to the ouster of the University of Missouri’s president. They took to social media to prove Scalia was less than informed, if not entirely racist in his estimation of Black academic achievement at top schools. Not only did Black Twitter deftly critique Scalia’s assertion with the hashtag #slowtrackblacks, they also took on Abigail Fisher, the woman who first filed the case in 2008 because she was denied admittance to the University of Texas and blamed affirmative action. The hashtag #staymadAbby was also trending on social media as Black graduates of top schools shared their accomplishments.
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