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56  STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC. v. PRESIDENT 

AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE 
THOMAS, J., concurring 

any of the burdens and strife generated by affirmative ac-
tion policies.

In  fact,  meritocratic  systems  have  long  refuted  bigoted 
misperceptions  of  what  black  students  can  accomplish.    I 
have always viewed “higher education’s purpose as impart-
ing knowledge and skills to students, rather than a commu-
nal,  rubber-stamp,  credentialing  process.”    Grutter,  539 
U. S., at 371–372 (opinion concurring in part and dissenting 
in part).  And, I continue to strongly believe (and have never 
doubted) that “blacks can achieve in every avenue of Amer-
ican  life  without  the  meddling  of  university  administra-
tors.”  Id.,  at  350.  Meritocratic  systems,  with  objective
grading scales, are critical to that belief.  Such scales have 
always  been  a  great  equalizer—offering  a  metric  for 
achievement  that  bigotry  could  not  alter.    Racial  prefer-
ences take away this benefit, eliminating the very metric by
which those who have the most to prove can clearly demon-
strate  their  accomplishments—both  to  themselves  and  to 
others. 

Schools’ successes, like students’ grades, also provide ob-
jective proof of ability.  Historically Black Colleges and Uni-
versities (HBCUs) do not have a large amount of racial di-
versity, but they demonstrate a marked ability to improve 
the lives of their students.  To this day, they have proved
“to be extremely effective in educating Black students, par-
ticularly in STEM,” where “HBCUs represent seven of the 
top eight institutions that graduate the highest number of 
Black  undergraduate  students  who  go  on  to  earn  [science 
and engineering] doctorates.”  W. Wondwossen, The Science 
Behind HBCU Success, Nat. Science Foundation (Sept. 24,
2020),  https://beta.nsf.gov/science-matters/science-behind-
hbcu-success.  “HBCUs have produced 40% of all Black en-
gineers.”  Presidential  Proclamation  No.  10451,  87  Fed. 
Reg.  57567  (2022).    And,  they  “account  for  80%  of  Black 
judges,  50%  of  Black  doctors,  and  50%  of  Black  lawyers.”