A Color Blind Constitution?

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     Recently, the present administration has proposed to increase from five to seven the categories of racial and ethnic groups for the census and various programs (Ref.1).  This follows recent progressive thinking, prevalent now in our society, that the civil rights movement of the 1960s focusing on a “color blind” society was misguided and that racial differences must be considered in almost all transactions (Ref.2).  But does this conflict with the 14th amendment to the Constitution (1868) stating among other issues pertaining to freedom that, “……. all should be equal under the law.”? (Ref.3)
     As reviewed by Professor Lucas Morel, the U.S. Supreme Court has not followed a color-blind interpretation of the 14th amendment.  It upheld the Jim Crow laws of the South in Plessy v Ferguson (1896), with one dissenting vote by John Marshall Harlan, stating,” Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among its citizens.” Color-blindness in K-12 was established In Brown v. Board of Education (1952-1954), when the court decided (9-0) that forced segregation was unconstitutional in K-12 education and instituted forced busing to mix the races.  But in the Bollinger cases (2003) the court found (5-4) that race should be a factor in post graduate education to increase diversity by appearance, not necessarily of thought.  This followed another 5-4 decision in 1978, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (Ref.4).
     But before the civil right and welfare laws in the 1960s, as described by Bob Woodson, Americans of African descent despite segregation showed remarkable entrepreneurship, economic gains, and educational progress.  This progress was in large part due to the 5000 southern all black schools, a joint venture of Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, which almost closed the education gap, but did not survive because of forced busing.  Blacks developed an independent economy and had NOT acted as victims as described in the New York Times 1619 project (Ref.5).
     In what environment do children develop to their full potential? According to Professor Glen Loury of Brown University, despite all the chatter to the opposite, having a family unit, mother, father, and children is by far the best setting to develop human capital.  The welfare policies of the mid-1960’s along with the popular culture of liberated sex have resulted in huge increases in single motherhood.  In addition, the maintenance of separate races in a society is a social not a biological phenomenon as unimpeded social interaction would lead to the blending of the races as is now taking place (Ref.6).
     Closing schools during the pandemic has caused an even greater disparity in academic achievement for minority children (Ref.7).  A proven successful alternative, Charter Schools, is in place, but expansion is vigorously fought by the teacher unions and their Democratic Party associates, despite significant community acceptance. This is a travesty that must be addressed (Ref.8,9).
       A decision now pending before the Supreme Court involving the admission policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina is due soon (Ref.10).  If, as expected, this court finds that the 14th amendment means that under the law all are equal, many progressives will probably continue their attempts to delegitimize the Court.  The implications of such a finding are consequential as it would imply that it is demeaning to minorities to be given special status because they cannot compete on a level playing field.  Our society would then have to deal with the underlying causes of poor minority academic achievement, the breakup of the family and poor schools.  This is a vital issue that must be resolved to allow our nation to move forward, address the future and not be consumed with the past.

  1. John F. Early, Biden’s OMB Plans to Divide America Into More Racial Groups, WSJ, April 8, 2023, available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-plan-to-divide-america-into-more-racial-groups-omb-hispanic-categories-ethnicity-benefits-360dab7f  (accessed April 9, 2023)
  2. Coleman Hughes, Actually, Color-blindness Isn’t Racist, The Free Press, December 20,2022, available at: https://www.thefp.com/p/actually-color-blindness-isnt-racist?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email  (accessed December 24, 2022)
  3. United Sates Senate, available at: https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/14th-amendment.htm#:~:text=Passed%20by%20the%20Senate%20on,laws%2C%E2%80%9D%20extending%20the%20provisions%20of   (accessed May 29, 2023)
  4. Lucas Morel, Race in America, Hillsdale College, Online Symposium, 2020, available at: https://symposium.hillsdale.edu/?utm_source=housefile&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=online_symposium&utm_content=final_em&sc=MK420UN2&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–z8h5tsMimkcehi76YeUcWexzWJSygUVbV_Szo7rBW7I32a3HvPy-s3mwHhdAreDG7yhmNnT25J7y7mzjBb6-3Q59feQ&_hsmi=87301648
  5. Robert Woodson, Race in America: Economics, Ibid
  6. Glen Loury, Race in America: The Black Family, Ibid
  7. Allison Rose Socol, NAEP Results Show Dismal Learning Loss Due to Pandemic. What Can Be Done? The Education Trust, September 1, 2022, available at: https://edtrust.org/the-equity-line/naep-results-show-dismal-learning-loss-due-to-pandemic-what-can-be-done/  (accessed May 26, 2023)
  8. IanRowe, Race in America: Education, Hillsdale College, Online Symposium, 2022, available at: https://symposium.hillsdale.edu/?utm_source=housefile&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=online_symposium&utm_content=final_em&sc=MK420UN2&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–z8h5tsMimkcehi76YeUcWexzWJSygUVbV_Szo7rBW7I32a3HvPy-s3mwHhdAreDG7yhmNnT25J7y7mzjBb6-3Q59feQ&_hsmi=87301648
  9. Kim Parker, Juliana M. Horowitz, Rich Moran, Mark H. Lopez, Multiracial in America: Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers, Pew Research Center, June 11, 2015, available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/06/11/multiracial-in-america/  (accessed May 19, 2023)
  10. Adam Liptak, Anemona Hartocollis, Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Affirmative Action at Harvard and U.N.C., New York Times, October 31, 2022, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/us/politics/supreme-court-affirmative-action-harvard-unc.html  (accessed May 26, 2023)

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