Bakke decision

Cultural  

1. An important ruling on affirmative action given by the Supreme Court in 1978. Allan Bakke, a white man, was denied admission to a medical school that had admitted black candidates with weaker academic credentials. Bakke contended that he was a victim of racial discrimination. The Court ruled that Bakke had been illegally denied admission to the medical school, but also that medical schools were entitled to consider race as a factor in admissions. The Court thus upheld the general principle of affirmative action.

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Bakke decision

Nixon appointee Lewis F. Powell Jr. did so in the 1978 Bakke decision.

From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2025

Bollinger in 2003, O’Connor took note of the quarter-century that had passed since the Bakke decision.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 13, 2021

In 1978, the Bakke decision introduced the notion of “diversity” as a competing rationale for affirmative action to “equity.”

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2016

Larry McDonald then stepped up and brought affirmative action, which had been upheld in the Supreme Court’s 1978 Bakke decision, into the discussion.

From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2014

The judges denied a petition from Kaiser for a rehearing after confidentially advising Justice Department attorneys in Washington that they wanted to wait for the Bakke decision.

From Time Magazine Archive