NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Joy Reid has criticized the Supreme Court's decision to abolish affirmative action and stated that it was "the only reason" she got into Harvard. The 54-year-old MSBNC anchor made the remarks on Thursday, June 29, in response to the court's historic decision to outlaw using race as a criterion for admissions.
"I got into Harvard only because of affirmative action," Reid stated on 'All In with Chris Hayes', adding, "I went to a school no one had ever heard of in Denver, Colorado, in a small suburb. I didn’t go to Exeter or Andover. I didn’t have college test prep. I just happened to be really nerdy and smart and have really good grades and good SAT scores."
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'I was pulled in — affirmatively'
Reid, a 1991 alumnus of the esteemed institution, recalled how a recruiter from Harvard visited her in Denver to conduct an interview. "This was not the recruiter saying, 'We’re going to take an unqualified person and put them in Harvard,'" Reid said, adding, "Rather, they were saying, 'We’re going to take a very qualified person who we would never know existed and put them in Harvard.'" I was pulled in — affirmatively. That’s how I got there. That’s how Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson got there. It’s how Justice Clarence Thomas got into Yale Law School."
Why is Joy Reid slamming SCOTUS?
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's (UNC) admissions process based on race was unlawful because it infringed on the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In a judgment that shocked the country, they also declared 6-2 that Harvard's admissions policy should also be overturned. Liberal justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was excused from the decision. The decision nullifies the long-standing "affirmative action" policy, which aimed to increase the proportion of Black and Hispanic students enrolled in colleges. Universities will now need to consider fresh approaches that guarantee diversity among student bodies and better integrate minority groups.
Her 'presence was questioned by white people'
Reid further alleged that after arriving at Harvard, her "presence was questioned by White people" when she responded to the news. "I was in a big conference class where some white students stood up and said, 'Those students, the Black students, they’re only here because of affirmative action.' It became a huge argument that we all ended up having," the anchor revealed.
Reid claimed that several of the individuals, who were allegedly targeted, had gotten special assistance enrolling in the institution. "And yet, some of the people I went to school with were far less smart than me or the other Black folks there. They got in because their daddy and their grandaddy went there," she stated.
'Those people’s affirmative action is A-OK'
A majority of the Supreme Court, however, approved of affirmative action, the host said. "They said that the people who benefited from slavery — their descendants who are so far ahead of Black folk in terms of opportunity that we’ll never catch up to them (I don’t care how many Oprahs we get) — those people’s affirmative action is A-OK," Reid said, adding, "That's because those people can pay for fancy trips for them. But you people who want to get in just because of your brains but you’re not from a legacy — too bad, you can’t come in," per MSNBC.
''The-beginning-of-the-end' of Harvard'
Reid's comments attracted varied of responses on the internet. One user tweeted, "A persuasive argument against Affirmative Action." Another user said, "So she sucked back then and she sucks now. At least she's consistent." Another user said, "Not the biggest fan of her but she is on point here."
"This is the clearest explanation of Affirmative Action I have ever heard . Brilliant Joy," claimed another. One person claimed, "Let's get this straight. She APPLIED there, Harvard didn't just magically pull her name out of thin air." "So, is she saying this is the ONLY reason ANY black person gets into Harvard? How does that make any sense?" remarked another user. Terrence K Williams tweeted, "Joy Reid just admitted she only made it because of Affirmative Action. This makes sense because she is Dumber than a Box of Rocks! Race should not be a Qualification! Raise your hand if you Agree." "And THIS my friends, marked "the-beginning-of-the-end" of Harvard..." commented one user.
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