English subtitles for clip: File:President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Supreme Court's Decision on Affirmative Action.webm

Subtitles extracted from YouTube

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The President:
Good afternoon, folks.

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Sorry to keep you
waiting a few minutes.

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Forty-five years --
for forty-five years,

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the United States Supreme Court

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has recognized a college's
freedom to decide how --

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how to build diverse
student bodies

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and to meet their responsibility
of opening doors of opportunity

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for every single American.

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In case after case,
including recently,

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just as a few
years ago in 2016,

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the Court has affirmed
and reaffirmed this view:

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that colleges could use race

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not as a determinative
factor for admission,

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but as one of the factors
among many in deciding

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who to admit from
a qualified --

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already qualified pool
of applicants.

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Today, the Court once again
walked away

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from decades of
precedent and make --

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as the dissent has made clear.

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The dissent states that today's
decision, quote,

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"rolls back decades of precedent
and momentous progress."

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End of quote.

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I agree with that statement
from the dissents --

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from the dissent.

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The Court has effectively
ended affirmative action

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in college admissions.
And I strongly --

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strongly disagree
with the Court's decision.

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Because affirmative action
is so misunderstood,

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I want to be clear --

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make sure everybody is clear
about what the law has been

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and what it has not been,
until today.

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Many people wrongly believe
that affirmative action

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allows unqualified students --
unqualified students --

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to be admitted ahead
of qualified students.

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This is not -- this is not
how college admissions work.

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Rather, colleges set out
standards for admission,

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and every student --

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every student has to
meet those standards.

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Then, and only then, after first
meeting the qualifications

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required by the school,

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do colleges look at other
factors in addition

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to their grades,
such as race.

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The way it works in
practice is this:

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Colleges first establish a
qualified pool of candidates

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based on meeting certain grade,
test scores, and other criteria.

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Then, and only then --
then, and only then,

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and it's from this
pool of applicants --

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all of whom have already met
the school's standards --

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that the class is chosen,

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after weighing a wide
range of factors,

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among them being race.

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You know, I've always believed

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that one of the greatest
strengths of America --

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and you're tired of
hearing me say it --

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is our diversity,
but I believe that.

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If you have any
doubt about this,

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just look at the United
States military,

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the finest fighting force
in the history of the world.

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It's been a model of diversity.
And it's not only been our --

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made our nation better,
stronger, but safer.

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And I believe the same is
true for our schools.

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I've always believed that
the promise of America

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is big enough for
everyone to succeed

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and that every generation
of Americans,

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we have benefitted by opening
the doors of opportunity

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just a little bit wider

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to include those
who have been left behind.

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I believe our
colleges are stronger

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when they are racially diverse.

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Our nation is stronger
because we use what we --

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because we are tapping into
the full range of talent

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in this nation.

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I also believe that
while talent, creativity,

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and hard work are everywhere
across this country,

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not equal opportunity.

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It is not everywhere
across this country.

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We cannot let this decision
be the last word.

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I want to emphasize:

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We cannot let this decision
be the last word.

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While the Court can
render a decision,

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it cannot change
what America stands for.

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America is an idea --
an idea unique in the world.

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An idea of hope and
opportunity, of possibilities,

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of giving everyone a fair shot,
of leaving no one behind.

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We have never fully
lived up to it,

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but we've never walked away
from it either.

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We will not walk away
from it now.

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We should never allow
the country

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to walk away from the dream
upon which it was founded:

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that opportunity
is for everyone, not just a few.

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We need a new path forward --
a path consistent with a law

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that protects diversity
and expands opportunity.

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So, today I want to offer
some guidance

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to our nation's colleges
as they review their admissions

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systems
after today's decision --

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guidance that is consistent
with today's decision.

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They should not abandon --
let me say this again:

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They should not abandon
their commitment

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to ensure student bodies
of diverse backgrounds

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and experience that
reflect all of America.

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What I propose for consideration
is a new standard,

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where colleges take into account
the adversity

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a student has overcome

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when selecting among
qualified applicants.

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Let's be clear:
Under this new standard,

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just as was true
under the earlier standard,

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students first have
to be qualified applicants.

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They need the GPA
and test scores

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to meet the school's standards.

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Once that test is met,

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then adversity should be
considered,

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including --
including its lack --

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a student's lack
of financial means,

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because we know too few students
of low-income families,

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whether in big cities
or rural communities,

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are getting an opportunity
to go to college.

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When the poor kid --
when a poor kid --

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may be the first in their
family to go to college --

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gets the same grades
and test scores as a wealthy kid

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whose whole family has gone
to the most elite colleges

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in the country and whose
path has been a lot easier,

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well, the kid who faced
tougher challenges

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has demonstrated more grit,
more determination.

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And that should be a factor
that colleges

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should take into account
in admissions.

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And many still do.

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It also means examining
where the student grew up

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and went to high school.

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It means understanding
the particular hardships

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that each individual student
has faced in life,

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including racial discrimination

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that individuals have faced
in their own lives.

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The Court says, quote,

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"[N]othing in this opinion
should be construed

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as prohibiting universities
from considering

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an application's

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[applicant's]
discussion of how race [has]

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affected his or her life,"
but it's through --

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but "be it through
discrimination

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[or] inspiration or otherwise."

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Because the truth is --
we all know it:

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Discrimination still
exists in America.

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Discrimination still
exists in America.

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Discrimination still
exists in America.

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Today's decision does
not change that.

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It's a simple fact.

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If a student has overcome --

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had to overcome adversity
on their path to education,

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a college should
recognize and value that.

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Our nation's colleges
and universities

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should be engines of
expanding opportunity

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through upward mobility.

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But today, too often
that's not the case.

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The statistics -- one statistic:
Students from the top

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1 percent of family
incomes in America

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are 77 times more likely
to get into an elite college

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than one from the bottom
20 percent of family incomes.

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Seventy-seven ti- -- percent
great- -- greater opportunity.

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Today, for too many schools,

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the only people who benefit
from the system

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are the wealthy and
the well-connected.

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The odds have been stacked
against working people

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for much too long.

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We need a higher
education system

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that works for
everyone, from App- --

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from Appalachia to Atlanta
and to far beyond.

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We can and must do
better, and we will.

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Today, I'm directing
the Department of Education

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to analyze what practices
help build a more inclusive

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and diverse student bodies

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and what practices
hold that back,

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practices like legacy
admissions and other systems

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that expand privilege
instead of opportunity.

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Colleges and universities
should continue their commitment

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to support, retain, and graduate
diverse students and classes.

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You know, and companies
who are already

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realizing the value in diversity
should not use this decision

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as an excuse to turn away
from diversity either.

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We can't go backwards.

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You know, I know
today's Court decision

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is a severe disappointment
to so many people, including me,

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but we cannot let the decision

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be a permanent setback
for the country.

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We need to keep an open door
of opportunities.

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We need to remember
that diversity is our strength.

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We have to find
a way forward.

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We need to remember that
the promise of America

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is big enough
for everyone to succeed.

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You know, that's the work
of my administration,

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and I'm always
going to fight for that.

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And I want to thank you all.

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And I know you've been told
I have a helicopter out there

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waiting to go up to do
an interview in New York.

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I'll be talking to more
about this in a live interview.

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But thank you very much.

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And we're going to have plenty
of time to talk about this.

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But we're not going
to let this break us.

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Thank you.

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The Press: President Biden,
the Congressional Black Caucus

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said the Supreme Court has

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"thrown into question
its own legitimacy."

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Is this a rogue Court?

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The President: This is
not a normal Court.

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The Press: Should there be term
limits for the justices, sir?