Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_l6gn.pdf
Page Number: 188.0

Cite as:  600 U. S. ____ (2023) 

49 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

young people’s experiences are shaded by a societal struc-
ture  where  race  matters.  Acknowledging  that  there  is
something special about a student of color who graduates 
valedictorian  from  a  predominantly  white  school  is  not  a 
stereotype.  Nor is it a stereotype to acknowledge that race
imposes certain burdens on students of color that it does not 
impose  on  white  students.  “For  generations,  black  and
brown  parents  have  given  their  children  ‘the  talk’—in-
structing them never to run down the street; always keep
your  hands  where  they  can  be  seen;  do  not  even  think  of 
talking back to a stranger—all out of fear of how an officer 
with a gun  will react to them.”  Utah v.  Strieff, 579 U. S. 
232, 254 (2016) (SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting).  Those conver-
sations  occur  regardless  of  socioeconomic  background  or
any other aspect of a student’s self-identification.  They oc-
cur because of race.  As Andrew Brennen, a UNC alumnus, 
testified, “running down the neighborhood . . . people don’t
see  [him]  as  someone  that  is  relatively  affluent;  they  see 
[him] as a black man.”  2 App. in No. 21–707, at 951–952. 
The absence of racial diversity, by contrast, actually con-
tributes  to  stereotyping.  “[D]iminishing  the  force  of  such 
stereotypes is both a crucial part of [respondents’] mission, 
and one that [they] cannot accomplish with only token num-
bers  of  minority  students.”    Grutter,  539  U. S.,  at  333. 
When  there  is  an  increase  in  underrepresented  minority
students on campus, “racial stereotypes lose their force” be-
cause diversity allows students to “learn there is no ‘minor-
ity viewpoint’ but rather a variety of viewpoints among mi-
  Id.,  at  319–320.  By  preventing
nority  students.” 
respondents from achieving their diversity objectives, it is
the Court’s opinion that facilitates stereotyping on Ameri-
can college campuses. 

To be clear, today’s decision leaves intact holistic college
admissions and  recruitment  efforts  that  seek  to  enroll  di-
verse classes without using racial classifications.  Universi-
ties should continue to use those tools as best they can to