Supreme Court Decision to End Affirmative Action Will Lead to Further Incarceration and Recidivism

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision today regarding Affirmative Action, JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA) President/CEO, DeAnna Hoskins, issued the following statement: “The Supreme Court’s decision today to end Affirmative Action in college admissions will have devastating ramifications for Black and Brown communities that are already over-policed and over-criminalized.

“We know the path to higher education is one that has proven to keep more of our young people from becoming ensnared in the criminal legal system in this country in the first place. Closing those doors to opportunity will only lead to more mass incarceration and increase recidivism rates for those people who are returning to their communities after a period of incarceration.”

“This is just the latest in a series of decisions from this Court to strip away fundamental rights of Black and Brown people and marginalized communities. Instead of upholding the path to higher education, the court is rebuilding the path to legalized systemic discrimination in this country.

“JustLeadershipUSA stands with other organizations in the civil rights community united in our commitment to racial justice and equal opportunity. What we must do collectively now is collaborate to actually ensure that this push toward eliminating civil rights is reversed and dismantled. We must ensure that legislation and legal precedents are no longer overturned, in order to prevent new harms, entrenched harms, and renewed harms against us and our communities.”