Hello friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president CEO of the National

Constitution Center and welcome to We The People, a weekly show of

constitutional debate. The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit

chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution

among the American people.

On October 31st, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in students for fair admissions

versus Harvard College and University of North Carolina.

In this pair of cases, the court will assess whether the schools are violating the equal protection clause by using race as a factor in admissions.

This is a two-part series today. we'll focus on the text, history, and original understanding of the 14th Amendment

and how it relates to affirmative action, and next week we'll recap the oral arguments.

Joining me to explore these urgently important constitutional issues are two of America's

leading constitutional scholars.

David Bernstein is executive director of the Liberty and Law Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George

Mason University.

He submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the petitioners, students for fair admissions, and

he is the author of the new book Classified the

untold story of racial classifications in America. David it's wonderful to

welcome you to We the People. Thanks Jeff, great to be here. And Ted Shaw is the Julius L. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the UNC

Center for Civil Rights. He previously taught at the University of Michigan Law School where he played

a key role in initiating the review of its admissions policy

that was later upheld in Grutter versus Bollinger in 2003.

Ted, it is always an honor to have you on We The People.

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