President Obama marked the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment – the abolition of slavery – with an address at the U.S. Capitol. He reminded Americans that “we betray the efforts of the past if we fail to push back against bigotry in all its forms.”
His message fell on deaf ears across the street. On Wednesday, Dec. 9, the Supreme Court is hearing an oral argument in a Tea Party-backed case for the second day in a row. This time, conservatives are attempting to destroy affirmative action protections for America’s minority communities – again.
Justice Antonin Scalia took the opportunity to share his misguided and bigoted opinion on the intelligence of our nation’s Black scientists, claiming that they benefit from as “slower track” instead of attending “classes that are too fast for them.”
He argued that “most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas.”
“They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re — that they’re being pushed ahead in — in classes that are too — too fast for them,” Scalia had the gall to generalize.
According to Talking Point’s Memo, “The case, Fisher v. University of Texas-Austin, is being brought by a white woman who was not accepted by the university and who says its policy to use race as a factor in a pool of the students it accepts is unconstitutional.”
Abigail Fisher, who was not in her high school class’ top 10 percent, cites Affirmative Action for not being admitted into the University.
Michael Tyler, DNC Director of African American Media, reminds us, “Remember when Marco Rubio said that we ‘need more Scalias’ on the Supreme Court? That would be a complete disaster for the American people. Scalia’s comments reflect a conservative ideology that clings to the past and is completely out of step with modern America. While Republican presidential candidates like Marco Rubio might endorse Scalia’s ugly worldview, Democrats and a majority of Americans will continue to reject this sort of hateful rhetoric and the even more destructive conservative policies that disproportionately harm minority communities.”
