Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights on Defending Race-Conscious Admissions

Fordham ACS will be hosting attorney, Genzie Torres from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Genzie Torres will be in conversation about their litigation against Ed Blum, a well-known civil rights adversary who has dedicated his life to fighting affirmative action, minority voting rights, and immigrant political representation. He was behind the failed attempt in Fisher v. Univ. of Texas to strike down affirmative action, which the Supreme Court rejected in 2016.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that universities have the right to consider race as one component of a comprehensive admissions process because race and racial diversity continue to matter in both admissions, on college campuses, and in our society at large. But today – at the same moment that school segregation and white supremacy is on the rise -- the threat to affirmative action is gaining force.

*The Lawyers’ Committee was founded in 1963 by John F. Kennedy to combat discrimination and secure equal justice under law for communities of color. As a leading racial justice organization, the Lawyers’ Committee strives to ensure equal educational opportunities are available to students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.