In a 2007 case, Chief Justice John Roberts famously wrote that “the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”
That’s more glib than helpful, given this country’s long and painful struggle with racial inequity. But it’s a window into the way the court’s conservative majority thinks about the issue. The justices made the point clear again Wednesday as they heard a case that could end 35 years of court approval for the limited use of race in admissions policies.
