Ketanji Brown Jackson Agrees With Michelle Obama’s Criticism of ‘Plucking’ Kids of Color Into Elite Schools

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson backed Michelle Obama’s criticism of isolating students of color at elite colleges during Wednesday’s episode of the former first lady’s podcast, agreeing after Obama said schools failed those students when they spread them thinly across campus.

Jackson said Harvard’s sizable Black community helped her feel at home. Jackson was an undergrad there and also received her law degree at Harvard; Obama also received her law degree there but was a Princeton undergraduate.

“You don’t do kids of color service by plucking them out and making them one of a few and then scattering them about the campus,” Obama said.

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Jackson described feeling popular but lonely in high school before the discussion turned to college. She contrasted that isolation with the belonging she found after arriving at Harvard in the late 1980s.

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Jackson said students in that community shared similar backgrounds and allowed her to feel comfortable being herself. She said she lived with five other Black women and praised the broader community they found on campus.

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Harvard’s reported Black enrollment has declined in both classes admitted since the ruling. Among students who reported their race, Black students accounted for 11.5% of the Class of 2029, down from 14% in the Class of 2028 and 18% in the Class of 2027. Asian American enrollment reached 41% in the latest class, while Hispanic enrollment fell to 11%.

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