Geoff: The U.S. Supreme court's
ruling has renewed the debate
over another admissions
practice, legacy admissions.
Universities give preference to
children of graduates when
deciding who to accept.
They filed a complaint after the
court ruling alleging that
Harvard's legacy and donor based
admissions system violates
federal law by favoring white
regions.
The naacp is calling on 1600
public and private universities
across the country to end legacy
admissions altogether.
Joining us now is the president
and CEO of the naacp, Derrick
Johnson.
Thank you for being with us.
Civil rights groups are
putting their focus on legacy
admissions after the supreme
court banned the use of race
conscious admissions practices.
Derrick: I want to make sure
students have fair access to
higher education and to
opportunities.
If the program to repair the
harm that was done by
institutions in this government
for centuries caught affirmative
action has come under attack for
being abolished -- we need to do
away with all preferential
programs such as legacy
programs.
It was reported that Harvard,
for example, 43% of white
students where they are some
type of legacy amendments.
That's not fair to the rest of
the population who want to make
sure there is equity in this
process.
Geoff: On that point, college
presidents have said the
practice helped build special
connections with families and
donors, some that extend for
generations.
It is an important tool for
fundraising and as enrollment
has become more diverse, there
are black families that benefit
from legacy admissions.
How do you see it?
Derrick: Thought that the
program to address the systemic
issues of racism called
affirmative action was a good
step in the right way.
We thought it allowed for a more
diverse student body, that it
allowed individuals who
otherwise would not have that
opportunity to sit in
procedures institutions because
they were qualified and not
barred from attending as a
result of their family
genealogy.
So here we are at this impasse
where we are going to say that
all students are admitted based
on qualification, let that be
the case and let's not let any
program give one community a leg
up over another community.
Geoff: The naacp is calling on
colleges and universities to
adopt this diversity no matter
what pledge.
Other than ending legacy
admissions, what else do you
want colleges and universities
to do?
Derrick: How an individual based
on their zip code should not be
a condemnation of their future.
Far too many kids, black, white,
and others, grow up in
communities where the resources
are lacking, the tax base is not
strong, the system of education
is less than desirable, and as a
result, they are finding
themselves in the midst of being
able to compete at the highest
level.
There should be a standard to
admit those individuals and we
should also make sure that if we
don't want preferential
treatments that preferential
treatment isn't provided to
anybody or we at least need to
account for intentional acts of
his termination in a way in
which we can repair pastimes.
Geoff: After the court ruling,
president Biden asked the
education department to study
what practices help build a more
inclusive student body and what
practices stand in the way of
that.
Do you expect the white house to
get involved in a significant
way here?
Derrick: I would hope they would
get involved, but let's be
clear, we have a supreme court
that is now a rogue supreme
court, one of the most corrupt
supreme court's we have had in
the history of the court.
We have a tendency of
conservatives seeking ways to
undermine the gains that were
made over the last 60 years, and
there is a clear effort to
ensure a permanent underclass
and to maintain the system of
white super messy.
That is what we should be
talking about.
That is what needs to be
addressed and that's in the best
interests of this nation.
Geoff: What role does the naacp
have in helping black youth get
ready, especially with more than
emphasis placed on college
admissions essays?
The naacp has a rich history of
being active in communities
around matters of civil-rights,
on this issue in particular,
beyond raising awareness, how
can the group get proactively
involved?
Derrick: We are proactively
involved.
We are an advocacy group, not a
service provider.
Our job is to impact the
formation of public and
corporate policies or we do so
by advocating for legislation,
by filing lawsuits, and by
educating the community on their
rights and responsibilities as
full citizens.
We invite others to join us to
do that.
If people are hungry, it's
important to have a soup
kitchen.
We need to address the policies
that address the hunger.
Geoff: Derrick Johnson is the
presid and CEO of the
naacp.
Thank you for your insights.
Derrick: Thank you for the
opportunity.