SGER: Black Public Opinion, the Supreme Court, and the University of Michigan Affirmative Action Decision

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

On December 2, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases arising out of the University of Michigan's use of race-conscious criteria in its admissions policies. That a decision is pending on an issue of such salience to black Americans, a discrete and strategically important element of the American electorate, presents researchers with a unique opportunity to take advantage of unfolding events in order to systematically examine the relationship between both the opinion of black Americans toward a policy articulated by the Court and the Court as an institution. In this project, the researchers conduct a survey of black Americans' reactions to the Court and its ruling. The survey will include measures of attitudes toward these admissions policies, diffuse support for the Court, racial identification and group consciousness, as well as exposure to a variety of media sources. The inclusion of these measures and the survey's panel design, before and after the decision is announced, yield substantial intellectual payoffs. The researchers gain significant analytical leverage on the Court's capacity to move public opinion with respect to a policy it has articulated, as well as the forces affecting the public's reaction to the Court and its outputs. Furthermore, the survey strengthens the theoretical and empirical base of studies examining the correlates of mass black attitudes, media effects, and Court legitimation. The study made possible by the proposed survey will also result in broader impacts by creating publicly accessible survey data on these attitudes held by African Americans. In addition, the research program itself fosters collaboration among faculty who are members of underrepresented groups.