From World News Group: Writing for the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor predicted“that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary” to creating a critical mass of minority students in America’s colleges and universities.

At closer to the 20- than the 25-year mark, the Supreme Court will evaluate whether her prophecy has become a reality, setting up a blockbuster case when the justices hear challenges to affirmative action policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina..

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On the one hand, as courts have responded to a surge in government-funded, race-based benefits stemming from the new equity agenda gripping the left, courts have acted promptly to strike them down. For example, federal judges put on hold a national program to forgive U.S. Department of Agriculture loans restricted to minority farmers. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals enjoined a similar program pushing minority owners of restaurants to the front of the line for COVID-19 relief funds. And lawsuits were recently launched or threatened against granting special preferences based on race in access to COVID-19 vaccines.

And in the K–12 school context, the Supreme Court has emphatically rejected racial classifications in placement. Chief Justice John Roberts phrased it famously in Parents Involved v. Seattle Schools (2007): “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race…”

This truth is found in the Declaration of Independence’s promise that all of us are created equal, and the Constitution’s guarantee that each of us is entitled to equal protection under the law, regardless of our race. These principles of political philosophy embody a deeper truth, founded on our faith, that we are all endowed with the same imago Dei regardless of our race, ethnicity, or status in society. Each of us is a child of the same heavenly Father, who does not condition His love on our skin color.

None of that is to discount the strength or beauty found in our diversity. Our communities are enriched by embracing the fullness of our different heritages, stories, and perspectives. Colleges and universities can take many steps to encourage and celebrate a healthy, racially, and intellectually diverse community and must act to stop racially motivated bullying or discrimination.

But celebrating diversity is not the same as enforcing racial privilege or preference. We can embrace our own cultural heritage and learn from and enjoy the cultures of others without assigning people a boost (or a harm) in college admissions simply because of the racial box they check.

Our government, including our public universities, owes each of us equal justice, equal treatment, and equal dignity under the law.

How are you praying? Share in the comments!

(Excerpt from World News Group. Photo Credit: Unsplash)