Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_l6gn.pdf
Page Number: 231.0

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

23 

JACKSON, J., dissenting 

them accordingly (including, for example, prescribing them
appropriate amounts of pain medication).98  For high-risk
Black newborns, having a Black physician more than dou-
bles  the  likelihood  that  the  baby  will  live,  and  not  die.99 
Studies also confirm what common sense counsels: Closing 
wealth  disparities  through  programs  like  UNC’s—which, 
beyond  diversifying  the  medical  profession,  open  doors  to 
every  sort  of  opportunity—helps  address  the  aforemen-
tioned health disparities (in the long run) as well.100 

Do  not  miss  the  point  that  ensuring  a  diverse  student 
body in higher education helps everyone, not just those who,
due  to  their  race,  have  directly  inherited  distinct  disad-
vantages  with  respect  to  their  health,  wealth,  and  well-
being.  Amici explain that students of every race will come 
to have a greater appreciation and understanding of civic 
virtue, democratic values, and our country’s commitment to
equality.101    The  larger  economy  benefits,  too:  When  it
comes down to the brass tacks of dollars and cents, ensuring
diversity will, if permitted to work, help save hundreds of 
billions of dollars annually (by conservative estimates).102 

Thus, we should be celebrating the fact that UNC, once a 
stronghold of Jim Crow, has now come to understand this. 

—————— 

98 AMC Brief 4, 14; see also Brief for American Federation of Teachers 
as Amicus Curiae 10 (AFT Brief ) (collecting further studies on the “tan-
gible benefits” of patients’ access to doctors who look like them). 

99 AMC Brief 4. 
100 National Research Council, New Horizons in Health: An Integrative 
Approach 100–111 (2001); Pollack et al., Should Health Studies Measure 
Wealth?  A  Systematic  Review,  33  Am.  J.  Preventative  Med.  250,  252, 
261–263 (2007); see also Part I–B, supra. 

101 See APA Brief 14–20, 23–27 (collecting studies); AFT  Brief 11–12
(same); Brief for National School Boards Association et al. as Amici Cu-
riae 6–11 (same); see also 567 F. Supp. 3d, at 592–593, 655–656 (factual
findings in this case with respect to these benefits). 

102 LaVeist et al., The Economic Burden of Racial, Ethnic, and Educa-
tional Health Inequities in the U. S., 329 JAMA 1682, 1683–1684, 1689,
1691 (May 16, 2023).