TITLE:
The United States Supreme Court Embraces Disparity in Legal Education: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College
AUTHORS:
Ruben Gonzalez, Delilah Dotremon
KEYWORDS:
College and University Admissions, Affirmative Action, Dearth of Black Lawyers, Racial and Social Justice, Equality, Legal Education, Equity
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.17 No.9,
September
15,
2026
ABSTRACT: The notable Supreme Court ruling in the 2023 case of Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. President and Fellows of Harvard (600 U.S. 181) produced strong reactions across this country that continue to reverberate. An analysis of the majority opinion, the concurring opinions and the dissenting opinions sets forth the views of the opposing parties on whether race should continue to be used as a factor in college and university admissions. The Supreme Court ruled that affirmative action programs were to be restricted in the higher educational admissions process. The ruling in this decision concluded that race could not be used as a factor in the Harvard College admission procedure. Since Supreme Court rulings affect how laws are applied, this ruling had nationwide effects as all higher education admission policies had to be changed due to the SFFA decision. The ruling caused great concern among many over the declining African-American enrollment in the nation’s law schools. One answer to the call for new strategies in Education to address the dearth of Black law students and Black lawyers is the proposal to create an HBCU Law School Pipeline. This HBCU Model could strengthen the pathway from undergraduate study to enrollment in law school thereby increasing the pool of Black lawyers in the nation. Black legal representation is key in promoting equality.