Good morning, we're coming on the air because the Supreme Court has just released a major

decision concerning one of the most defining cases brought before the justice is this term.

The Supreme Court today struck down race-conscious admissions policies, often called affirmative

action at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, saying they violate the equal protection

clause of the Constitution.

The Court's ruling is of course not confined to those two schools, but will affect many

colleges and universities in the U.S.

The justice is voted six to three, along ideological lines with Chief Justice John Roberts

writing the majority opinion and justice is so to my or and Kagan dissenting.

Justice Katangi Brown-Jackson dissented in the UNC case and recused herself on Harvard

where she was on the board until recently.

Coming up on today's plain, a ruling that overturns decades of past precedent and where

college campuses go from here.

It's today explained, I'm Noel King.

The Supreme Court has considered race-conscious admissions several times in the past and

preserved it with some nuances and some exceptions.

So today's ruling is a break with decades of precedent.

Eric Hoover is a senior writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education and he's going to walk us

through those decades.

Eric start this way.

What is affirmative action?

So broadly speaking, affirmative action refers to policies and practices designed to promote

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