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The Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action. What will happen without it?

The Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action. What will happen without it?

To many, in light of recent rulings, it wasn’t a big surprise that the right-leaning Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in colleges. Recruiting programs targeted to students who are underrepresented in the halls of higher education could disappear. To that I say, "Ouch."

I know something about affirmative action—it’s how I got into college, studied advertising, and learned copywriting. A recruiter from the Fashion Institute of Technology came to my high school's career day specifically to recruit students of color. He told me about the many curriculums FIT offered, including Advertising & Communications. He learned I liked to write and suggested I look into copywriting, which I did. I was accepted and graduated two years later. Where would I be today if I hadn't met that recruiter?

Many of my friends were recruited this way and went to the colleges of their choice. We didn't think any less of ourselves or our capabilities because of affirmative action. We were happy there were opportunities ensuring us solid futures and successes. We made our parents proud as we landed positions in major corporations, law firms, the arts, medicine, science, and government. Even so, we were often stigmatized as "twofers," a term reserved for women of color because we covered two quotas—a minority and a woman. Often, as one of very few, if not the only, minorities on staff, we were considered "tokens" and our hiring was deemed "tokenism" or sometimes “a minority hire.” Our color trumped our capabilities, and it hasn't stopped.

When I started looking for a copywriting position in national advertising agencies it felt like doors were slammed shut. Luckily, I was accepted into a training program put in place to hire more people of color. At times, it was humiliating. For example, just before officially going into the offices to begin the program, we all had to be “certified,” which entailed going to a clinic for a series of tests—two were for syphilis and gonorrhea. I was told not to do "too well" on the reading test and don't show everyone my portfolio of speculative ads I'd created at FIT. But I had a goal to reach and nothing was going to take that away from me. Affirmative action put my foot squarely in the door. I went on to have a successful career in the ad business, including several years working in Italy for the same company where I began my career. Where would I have landed without affirmative action?

From education to housing to justice, these listens explore the significance of affirmative action. Without it—a proven key to opening doors of opportunity—the American Dream could remain out of reach for many.

When Affirmative Action Was White
The Affirmative Action Puzzle
For Discrimination
Diversity, Inc.
Biased
Nine Black Robes
The Color of Law
You Mean It or You Don't
The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice
Unequal
BONUS: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Affirmative Action Dissent Read by Actress Alfre Woodard

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