A fair way to address racism?

Re “Calling out ‘let-themeat-cake obliviousness’ of six justices,” Opinion, July 2

The six Supreme Court justices who voted to outlaw affirmative action in college admissions live in a bubble, not the real world.

In her dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson listed ways in which Black people have been disadvantaged by both laws and government policies since the days of slavery.

However, another important tool of disadvantage and discrimination was omitted: the G.I. Bill passed at the end of World War II.

As the law was being drafted, Rep. John Rankin of Mississippi ensured that the programs would be administered at the state, not the federal, level. Thus, the benefits of college tuition and low-cost home loans, among others, were much more difficult for Black veterans to obtain, further institutionalizing the inequity that continues to this day.

Barbara Luther

Orange

It is rather disingenuous of columnist Robin Abcarian to be so incensed by the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action in college admissions.

She omits the fact that even in states such as California, voters have rejected college admissions that consider race. According to some polls, most African Americans oppose considering race in admissions.

Abcarian should be more concerned with the fact that colleges have used racial preferences to increase minority students’ enrollment because they recognize that these kids have been trapped in poor public schools.

The rise in the charter school movement and school choice programs will give minority children an opportunity for a better education. When they apply for college admission, they will be judged solely by their ability and not at all by the color of their skin.

Janet Polak Beverly Hills