Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_l6gn.pdf
Page Number: 101.0

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

53 

THOMAS, J., concurring 

first  in  his  family  to  attend  UNC.    Post,  at  3.  JUSTICE 
JACKSON  argues  that  race-conscious  admission  programs
are necessary to adequately compare the two applicants.  As 
an initial matter, it is not clear why James’s race is the only
factor that could encourage UNC to admit him; his status
as a first-generation college applicant seems to contextual-
ize his application.  But, setting that aside, why is it that 
John  should  be  judged  based  on  the  actions  of  his  great-
great-great-grandparents? 
  And  what  would  JUSTICE 
JACKSON say to John when deeming him not as worthy of
admission:  Some  statistically  significant  number  of  white 
people had advantages in college admissions seven genera-
tions ago, and you have inherited their incurable sin?

Nor  should  we  accept  that  John  or  James  represent  all
members of their respective races.  All racial groups are het-
erogeneous,  and  blacks  are  no  exception—encompassing
northerners and southerners, rich and poor, and recent im-
migrants  and  descendants  of  slaves.    See,  e.g.,  T.  Sowell, 
Ethnic America 220 (1981) (noting that the great success of 
West Indian immigrants to the United States—dispropor-
tionate among blacks more broadly—“seriously undermines
the proposition that color is a fatal handicap in the Ameri-
can economy”).  Eschewing the complexity that comes with
individuality  may  make  for  an  uncomplicated  narrative, 
but lumping people together and judging them based on as-
sumed  inherited  or  ancestral  traits  is  nothing  but  stereo-
typing.11 

To further illustrate, let’s expand the applicant pool be-
yond John and James.  Consider Jack, a black applicant and 
the  son  of  a  multimillionaire  industrialist.    In  a  world  of 
race-based  preferences,  James’  seat  could  very  well  go  to 

—————— 

11 Again,  universities  may  offer  admissions  preferences  to  students 
from disadvantaged backgrounds, and they need not withhold those pref-
erences from students who happen to be members of racial minorities. 
Universities may not, however, assume that all members of certain racial
minorities are disadvantaged.