In a narrow but significant 4-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the University of Texas at Austin’s affirmative action program.

The court’s decision (pdf) in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin “is a victory for children of every color in America,” the NAACP Legal Defense Fund said on Twitter. 

The case was brought by Abigail Fisher of Sugar Land, Texas, a white woman who said the university had denied her admission based on her race. Fisher, who has since graduated from Louisiana State University, had the backing of anti-affirmative action groups.

As Vox explains:

Thursday’s decision, penned by Justice Anthony Kennedy, states that the university’s race-conscious admissions program is lawful under the Equal Protection Clause. Kennedy was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented.

Justice Elena Kagan had recused herself for prior work on the case as United States solicitor general and Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat has remained vacant since his death in February.

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