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Editor's note: This blog was updated in April 2023.

This term, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide on two cases concerning affirmative action brought by the conservative activist group Students for Fair Admissions. If the court strikes down affirmative action 鈥� sometimes referred to as race-conscious admissions policies 鈥� it would make it unconstitutional for universities across the country to consider a student鈥檚 race as one factor in a holistic admissions review process. These policies help to address our country鈥檚 long history of discrimination and systemic inequality in higher education by increasing access for underrepresented groups.

So, who is behind this case?

In 2016, in Fisher v. University of Texas, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the consideration of race as part of a holistic admissions process, a practice known as affirmative action, is consistent with the Equal Protection Clause. The district court already dismissed this claim, citing Fisher.

But make no mistake about it 鈥� the engineer behind this litigation is intent on sowing divisiveness amongst communities of color in an effort to dismantle diversity programs and civil rights protections that benefit all people of color. Students for Fair Admissions is the creation of Edward Blum. Blum is not a lawyer, but he has a long history of crafting legal attacks on civil rights.

After losing a congressional election in the early 1990s, Blum, who is white, challenged the Texas redistricting process as discriminating in favor of African American and Latinx voters. While his success in that case, , was limited to particular districts, among his to the voting rights, Blum was behind Shelby v. Holder. That case gutted important protections in the Voting Rights Act with drastic effects for voters of color. His attacks on laws and policies designed to promote the equality of people of color are not limited to voting rights. Blum also crafted the unsuccessful challenge to race-conscious college admissions programs in Fisher v. University of Texas.

Failing in Fisher, Blum baldly strategized that he 鈥�.鈥� He formed Students for Fair Admissions as a vehicle to file litigation. The organization鈥檚 leadership consists solely of Mr. Blum, Abigail Fisher, and Richard Fisher, her father. Through , Blum recruited 鈥渕embers鈥� and filed his challenge to college admissions against Harvard and the University of North Carolina with a twist. This time, Blum claims that the consideration of race discriminates against Asian Americans.

Listen to our Podcast on the Case Against Harvard

While Blum now purports to represent the interests of Asian Americans, none of his goals in litigation have changed. Blum isn鈥檛 seeking to ensure that universities adequately address any implicit biases against Asian Americans in their admissions practices, nor is he asking them to take other affirmative steps to recognize the value of Asian-American applicants.

The relief Blum seeks is narrowly focused on what has always been his objective: a prohibition on any awareness of race in college admissions. If Blum gets his wish, statistical projections show that white applicants will be the primary beneficiaries. Not talking about race doesn鈥檛 erase discrimination; it reinforces the privileges of white applicants by ignoring the ways in which deep-seeded structural racial inequality impacts individuals.

Blum鈥檚 cynical attempt to use members of the Asian American community seeks to pit people of color against one another. This is the direct antithesis of race-conscious admissions programs, which endeavor to create richly diverse college campuses. A college community that includes diversity across many spectrums, including race, allows students to learn from one another and to work together. The dialogue and debate that happens on college campuses will prepare students for engagement in the private sector workforce, the military, and many facets of civil society.

Contemporary events demonstrate all too clearly that racial divides and racial discrimination persist in America. In this context, efforts to promote diversity cannot be viewed as mere niceties, and attacks on those efforts cannot be treated as benign. There are real consequences for democracy at stake.