Black Admissions At Harvard Law Is The Lowest Since 1965

In 1965, Harvard Law School saw 15 Black students in its graduating class.

Harvard Law School welcomed its lowest number of Black students this fall since the 1960s, according to the New York Times.

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the reinstatement of affirmative action, saying that the implementation of the policy is unconstitutional as it violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Due to this reversal, Harvard’s Black admissions have decreased to barely above the size of its 15-member 1965 class.

“A student body composed of persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences is a vital component of legal education,” said Jeff Neal, a spokesperson at Harvard Law School. “Harvard Law School remains committed to following the law and fostering an on-campus community and a legal profession that reflect numerous dimensions of human experience.”

The change in the policy seemingly works against creating diversity in higher education.

“The conclusions that can be drawn from one year of data are necessarily limited,” Neal said. “We continue to believe that a student body composed of persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences is a vital component of legal education. Harvard Law School remains committed both to following the law and to fostering an on-campus community and a legal profession that reflects numerous dimensions of human experience.”

Harvard Law is not the only institution seeing low entrance numbers for Black students. There has been a decline of Black enrollees at other Predominantly White Institutions (PWI.)

Amherst College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Washington University in St. Louis have all reportedly dropped in Black enrollment.

Danielle Holley, president of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, said removing racial data hampered the college’s ability to reach multiple demographics. Therefore, the college had to take alternative measures to find eligible, diverse candidates.

“That demographic information that used to be readily available for a student’s file is now masked,” Holley said.