Statement
Statement from Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich on the Supreme Court Decision Impacting Affirmative Action
For Immediate Release: Thursday 29 June
For more than 40 years, institutions of higher education provided opportunities that attempted to equal the playing field for millions of Americans who come from communities who have been historically discriminated against, marginalized, and oppressed. Today’s ruling is not just a setback, it is an attack on efforts to advance equality and fairness in our society.
As Justice Sonia Sotomayor said so well, “Ignoring race will not equalize a society that is racially unequal. What was true in the 1860s, and again in 1954, is true today: Equality requires acknowledgment of inequality.”
It saddens me that the triumphs made by civil rights activists in the face of hate and violence, which provide legal protections against discrimination, have vanished due to the far-right extremist majority on the Court. This decision represents a viewpoint that has long been rightfully discredited.
To quote Justice Sotomayor again, “At bottom, the six unelected members of today’s majority upend the status quo based on their policy preferences about what race in America should be like, but is not, and their preferences for a veneer of colorblindness in a society where race has always mattered and continues to matter in fact and in law.”
These decisions of the Supreme Court do not reflect the sentiments and sensibilities of Montgomery County residents. Unfortunately, the reality is that their decisions will have ramifications on the lives of Montgomery County residents, businesses, students, and educational institutions and will be felt for generations.
My priority is the protection of the rights of all Montgomery County residents, and I will continue to fight for policies, processes, and principles that reflects our communities. We are one of the most socio-economically, racially and ethnically diverse jurisdictions in the nation. We will continue to seek and provide opportunities for those individuals and groups who have been historically and systemically disadvantaged. This makes all of us better.
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Release ID: 23-014