Black student enrollment at Harvard Law School has significantly decreased following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision to reject race-based admissions. The ruling deemed the consideration of race in college admissions a violation of the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Harvard Law School's incoming class includes only 19 Black students, representing 3.4% of the class — the lowest figure since the 1960s. This marks a steep decline from the 43 Black students who enrolled in the first-year class the previous year, according to data from the American Bar Association.
In response, Jeff Neal, a spokesperson for Harvard Law, reaffirmed the institution's commitment to diversity. "Harvard Law School continues to believe that a student body composed of persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences is a vital component of legal education," Neal said in a statement to The Times. He added that the law school is dedicated to both complying with the Supreme Court's decision and fostering a diverse community.
Neal also emphasized the difficulty of drawing conclusions from a single year of data, telling Fox News Digital that the full impact of the Supreme Court's decision remains uncertain. "It was understood that the decision would impact, in ways that could not be fully anticipated, the ability of educational institutions across the nation to attract and admit a diverse cohort of students," he said.
However, not all at Harvard share this cautious optimism. Harvard Law Professor David B. Wilkins, an expert on Black representation in the legal profession, described the drop in Black enrollment as unprecedented. "This obviously has a lot to do with the chilling effect created by that decision. This is the lowest number of Black entering first-year students since 1965," Wilkins said. He noted that prior to 1965, Harvard Law admitted just 15 Black students, but since 1970, the first-year class has typically included 50 to 70 Black students.
Faculty members have also observed a decline in Black male students, with only six enrolling in the current first-year class. Sean Wynn, president of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, described the enrollment decline as a "crushing loss" and argued that the ruling has fundamentally altered the experience of attending Harvard Law School.
The decrease in Black enrollment is not the only significant racial impact of the Supreme Court’s decision. The New York Times reported that Hispanic enrollment at Harvard Law also fell sharply, from 11% (63 students) in 2023 to 6.9% (39 students) in 2024. Conversely, enrollment of white and Asian students increased.
Despite the decline at Harvard, some experts see broader positive trends. UCLA Law Professor Richard Sander, a critic of affirmative action, highlighted a 3% increase in the overall number of Black law students nationwide, rising from 2,969 in 2023 to 3,060 in 2024. Sander noted, however, that this increase might be influenced by changes in reporting practices, and the data does not account for multiracial students or those who declined to report their race.
Sander also suggested that the decline in Black enrollment at elite institutions like Harvard might be beneficial for some students. "Those students are going to go to another school where they’re better matched and they’re poised to succeed," he argued.
As the implications of the Supreme Court's ruling continue to unfold, institutions like Harvard Law face the challenge of maintaining diversity within the constraints of the new legal landscape. The broader impact on legal education and the profession remains to be seen.
