On the recordJuly 11, 2023
I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for hosting this important topic. I rise today to call out the corruption and the hypocrisy of this Supreme Court. The affirmative action ruling is a total sham. Justice Clarence Thomas is good at accepting gifts. One gift he received was the gift of going to Yale Law School, thanks to affirmative action. He said: ``God only knows where I would be today'' if it were not for affirmative action. Yet, in this last ruling, he opined that affirmative action was bad for African Americans because if they got into these institutions, they would be unable to thrive. Elite institutions remain the gateways into government, into big industry, into C-suites. Eight of the nine sitting Justices on this court either attended Yale or Harvard Law School. In fact, three of the Justices on this bench are beneficiaries of affirmative action and have stated it. Allowing themselves to get into college because of affirmative action, they got on to the bench because of affirmative action. Both Democrat and Republican Presidents considered race when selecting them as nominees for the Supreme Court, appropriately so. It is about representation. It is about diversity. It is about making sure that all voices are seen and heard. Affirmative action is more than just about admissions. It is also about economic progress. But this ruling has cut generations of students from this critical benefit. The Court is facing a legitimacy crisis.…
