Michelle Obama Says Her “Heart Breaks” for Young People Impacted by Ruling on Affirmative Action

Former First Lady Michelle Obama has released a statement on Instagram about the Supreme Court's decision to overturn affirmative action, which was announced earlier today.

"So today, my heart breaks for any young person out there who's wondering what their future holds—and what kinds of chances will be open to them," Obama wrote in her post. "And while I know the strength and grit that lies inside kids who have always had to sweat a little more to climb the same ladders, I hope and I pray that the rest of us are willing to sweat a little, too."

The Supreme Court's decision ruled that race-based admissions decisions at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina were unlawful, in a move that will have a sweeping impact on college admissions in the United States. In a 6-3 vote, with the liberal members dissenting, the court ruled that U.S. colleges can no longer consider a student's race when deciding entry.

In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote "a person’s skin color may play a role in assessing individualized suspicion, but it cannot play a role in assessing that person’s individualized contributions to a diverse learning environment. That indefensible reading of the Constitution is not grounded in law and subverts the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection."

Elsewhere, he wrote, "Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise. But, despite the dissent’s assertion to the contrary, universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today."

In a dissent, Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote, "Today, this court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress." The decision "cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter. The Court subverts the constitutional guarantee of equal protection by further entrenching racial inequality in education, the very foundation of our democratic government and pluralistic society."

Sotomayor added, "The devastating impact of this decision cannot be overstated. The majority’s vision of race neutrality will entrench racial segregation in higher education because racial inequality will persist so long as it is ignored."

You Might Also Like

• Watch Oprah Talk About Longevity with Dr. Peter Attia

• Why Are Americans So Bad at Getting Old?

• Yes, You Really Can Make Your Skin Cells Younger