Justice Jackson Echoes Obama on Isolating Students of Color at Elite Colleges

On a recent podcast, former first lady Michelle Obama argued that elite institutions harm students of color by isolating them in tiny cohorts, a view that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson endorsed. Jackson described how, as a Black undergraduate at Harvard in the late 1980s, she found a robust community of Black peers and roommates, which contrasted sharply with the isolation she experienced in high school. She praised the sense of belonging that the larger Black network on campus provided.

The dialogue also referenced the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that ended race-aware admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, a decision Jackson dissented from and warned would worsen racial gaps. Since that ruling, Harvard’s Black enrollment has fallen from 18% in the class of 2027 to 11.5% in the class of 2029, while Asian American enrollment rose to 41%. Federal investigations into Harvard’s compliance with the ruling are ongoing.