These rulings are a registration—one of the most important in 30 years—of the resistance by the majority of the American people to going backward on Black rights, women’s rights, and other civil rights gains.

The court decisions highlight something more fundamental than conjunctural political developments: long-term trends in social attitudes that continue to strengthen the unity and potential power of the working class and its allies. It was the struggles of Blacks and working people that led to the end of the miscegenation laws that prohibited “race mixing,” which were finally abolished in 1967. Other victories won in struggle, such as the right to birth control and a woman’s right to choose abortion, have kept expanding the right to privacy and breaking down prejudices against oppressed layers of society.

The Supreme Court ruling establishes clearly, for the first time, that affirmative action is constitutional at the university level. At the center of its ruling is the premise that the state has a “compelling interest” in diversity in education—for as long as needed. In referring to the need for “diversity” today, the court decision shifts the basis for affirmative action from “past injustice,” as it has sometimes been explained, toward the reality of conditions today.

While the 1978 Bakke ruling was a blow because it barred quotas as a tool to break down barriers to oppressed nationalities and women, the U.S. rulers were not able to reverse affirmative action. The Bakke decision itself accepted the use of “race” as a consideration in school admissions. As a result, affirmative action programs have become established in many areas—including education, employment, and the military. Even without formal quotas, schools and other institutions have found ways to establish affirmative action goals that have led to important gains. The term “diversity” has taken on affirmative action content.

The fight for affirmative action has taken a leap forward. And the struggle against sodomy laws has been won. The U.S. rulers can chip away at these gains but not easily reverse them. Not only the vast majority of working people, but the majority of the U.S. rulers now support basic rights for women, affirmative action, and civil rights. The angry sense of betrayal by right-wing forces at the Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices who were part of issuing these rulings only underscores this reality. It is also a reminder that the overall direction of the Supreme Court is determined, not by which president appointed them or their own past record, but by shifts in the class struggle and deep-going changes in social attitudes.

The Militant joins with the NAACP, the University of Michigan students and faculty, advocates of civil rights for gays, and all those who celebrate these victories. They will give confidence to working people to press for their rights in the face of the ongoing assaults by the employers and the government.
 
 
Related article:
Supreme Court upholds affirmative action plans
Ruling affirms there is ‘state interest in diversity’ in higher education  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home