“Trashing” Whiteness: Race Consciousness and the Failed Promise of Merit

The legal treatment of educational inequality is at an impasse. The recent Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College case (“SFFA v. Harvard”), in which the Supreme Court struck down race- based admissions to higher education, brought the link between race and education back to the forefront. In his concurring opinion, Justice Thomas described merit-based “objective grading scales” as the “great equalizer.” Under this paradigm, Justice Thomas reasoned that rejecting race-conscious decisions would generate more diverse institutions, ensuring inclusion of, amongst others, white students “from rural Appalachia.” Full Article