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NUL Signs on to Amicus Brief in SCOTUS Affirmative Action Case

The National Urban League has joined sixteen civil and human rights groups in filing a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a case that could decide the legality of affirmative action at public universities.

The brief, led by the Leadership Council on Civil Rights and the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil and Human Rights, calls on the Supreme Court to reaffirm previous rulings such as Grutter v. Bollinger acknowledging that diversity is a compelling state interest, and that it is constitutional for universities to use race as one of numerous factors when making individualized admissions decisions to further that diversity interest.

As the Court noted in Grutter, diversity in education remains important "in a society like our own, in which race unfortunately still matters."

The brief cites past court opinions and social science research documenting that a diverse student body leads to a range of educational and societal benefits for all students:

• As this Court has recognized, the presence of a diverse student body on campus leads to a range of educational benefits, including improved learning outcomes and better preparation for work and citizenship. Because race and ethnicity continue to affect the experiences and perspectives of individuals in society, racial and ethnic diversity are important aspects of the diversity that promotes the best educational outcomes.