Page 35 - Affirmative Action Programs News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

March on washington, martin luther king and all of us announced it, and the concern of the civil rights community is that this court must affirm that race is a factor we have to deal with in our lifetime. we are not in a position where things are beyond race and that we are in an after or post-racial generation and for the court to duck this issue certainly is not what we wanted. it is better than saying no but it's much less than affirmation. >> as i was talking about with chairman emeritus bond, the latest poll, said affirmative action plans are at an all-time low, 45% believing these progra...

Case, a public university, to show that it was okay to use race as a factor in admissions. but in fact, by emphasizing that a school has to show there's no reasonable, workable, race-neutral alternative, the court really is changing the law a little. it's setting the bar -- it's setting a higher standard for colleges to meet when they get sued over their affirmative action programs. it's very possible that some schools won't be able to meet the standard. >> right, pete. sometimes it seems like strict scrutiny gets stricter and stricter. we know you'll be back with us tomorrow. thanks again. >>...

Breathe. the president's office isn't confirming that, but it is saying that, so the doctors are doing everything they can. nelson mandela's wife is at his bedside, as she has been for the last two weeks. we've also seen his ex-wife arrive escorted by police. that suggests she was in a hurry to get here. people just watching and waiting and praying, tamron. >> all right. thank you very much. and time now for the news nation gut check. as we mentioned to you, the supreme court today imposed a stricter test for affirmative action and college admissions while allowing the policy to survive for ...

Abigail fisher and her case had the standing to be before them but they've sent it back? >> the universities have options. other things they could do but they won't create the diverse student body they want to create. there is no alternative to some kind of race test in affirmative angion. if you want to get beyond race as someone once said you have to get to race. if you want a diverse student body around the country you have to have some kind of race-based formula. doesn't mean race is the only thing you put in the formula to decide who's getting into college and who's not, but race has to b...

That requires states with a history of discriminating minorities to get federal approval before changing their election laws. and finally the fisher v. texas case that could be a key decision on affirmative action programs at colleges and universities. joining me now is nbc's justice correspondent pete williams there at the supreme court. this could be a significant day. for the first time in a long time, there's several major issues at play right now. how do we expect these may go? what do we think we might hear first? >> we don't know because we don't know what the last day of the court will...