Justice Kennedy’s Evolution On Race

In 2013, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy sided with his fellow conservatives in scaling back the Voting Rights Act of 1965, joining the majority opinion which stated that, “conditions that originally justified these measures no longer characterize voting … the nation is no longer divided along those lines.” But since then, Kennedy has separated himself from the right-leaning members of the bench, including Chief Justice John Roberts, to stand with the liberal contingent on discrimination in housing, and affirmative action in college admissions. When he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, Kennedy had voted against racial policies in employment, contracting, and university admissions, as well as on redistricting and voter regulations. But this year Kennedy said a university has “considerable deference” to ensure student diversity. “It remains an enduring challenge to our nation’s education system to reconcile the pursuit of diversity with the constitutional promise of equal treatment and dignity.”