US:Civil rights activists, educators and Democratic politicians have condemned a supreme court ruling that schools cannot use a student's race as a criterion for ensuring diversity in schools. In a five to four vote, the court outlawed schemes in Seattle and Louisville, Kentucky, aimed at ensuring that schools do not "re-segregate" on racial lines.
The schemes are similar to hundreds around the US and schools and education boards were yesterday considering what they could now do to ensure that public schools remain ethnically diverse.
Chief Justice Roberts said such programmes were "directed only to racial balance, pure and simple", a goal which he said was forbidden by the US constitution's guarantee of equal protection. "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race," he said.
Louisville's schools spent 25 years under a court order to eliminate the effects of state-sponsored segregation and the school board decided to keep much of the plan in place after the order was lifted to prevent schools from re-segregating.
The lawyer for the Louisville system told the supreme court that the plan was a success story that enjoys broad community support among parents of white and black students, despite the lawsuit brought against it by some parents. The Seattle school district said it used race as one among many factors, relied on it only in some instances and then only at the end of a lengthy process in allocating students among the city's high schools.
Critics complained that the conservative majority in the court had taken the first step towards reversing the landmark 1954 ruling in Brown v the Board of Education, which declared school segregation unconstitutional.
"The premise is laid for the resegregation of America and the denial of opportunity . . . Inheritance and access will not be counterbalanced by equal protection," said the Rev Jesse Jackson.
Democratic candidates debating at the historically black Howard University were unanimous in their condemnation of the ruling, which Hillary Clinton said "turned the clock back" on history.
Barack Obama paid tribute to the civil rights leaders who had fought against segregation in schools more than half a century ago. "If it were not for them, I would not be standing here," he said.
Mrs Clinton won a standing ovation during the debate when she suggested there was a hint of racism in the way HIV, which affects African-Americans in disproportionate numbers, is addressed in the US.
"Let me just put this in perspective: if HIV-Aids were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34 there would be an outraged outcry in this country," she said.
Mrs Clinton holds a slight lead over Mr Obama among African-American voters, who play an important role in Democratic primaries in many states.