The 1978 Bakke decision represented the Supreme Court’s first attempt, in the post-Jim Crow era, to grapple with the issue of race-conscious admissions in higher education. The Court agreed that the attainment of a diverse student body was a compelling educational interest and held that race could be “a factor” in the admissions decision. It invalidated a racial quota used by the University of California at Davis Medical School, but permitted less rigid forms of racial preferences.

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