Affirmative Action Was Just The Start—Now Racial Progress Is Reversing

Forbes

5 days ago

The end of affirmative action marked a turning point—but the deeper erosion of racial equity in higher education is just beginning.
Among the many threats facing higher education today, the steep declines in Black student enrollment caused by the Supreme Court's 2023 decision to eliminate race-conscious affirmative action continue to be a challenge most competitive universities are struggling to overcome.
The alarming decline in Black student enrollment these last two years coupled with the dismantling of support programs, open a veil to what's ahead: a devastating setback in economic mobility and progress for Black communities.
The effects of this decision are already being felt. In Fall 2025, Black student enrollment dropped from 9% to 3% at Boston University, 15% to 5% at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 7% to 3% at Tufts University, and the trend is similar at most top schools around our nation.
Diverse perspectives in classrooms and boardrooms aren't just a moral imperative—they are essential for building a workforce prepared to address the rapid evolution and challenges of a global society. Education is a tool many must use to overcome systemic barriers and create generational prosperity for themselves, their families, and their communities. Education drives social, career, and economic mobility.
These significant enrollment declines not only jeopardize the future of Black families but also diminish the diversity of our workforce. The U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee states in a 2022 report that during most of the past 50 years, Black Americans have faced unemployment rates that would be considered recessionary if they applied to the whole population. The SCOTUS ruling threatens to deepen this inequity.
The progress made over the past 60 years has suffered a damaging setback, and this is only year one with Fall 2025 quickly approaching. But with mounting pressure from multiple directions, will elite universities rise to the moment or allow progress to slip away?