1978

In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that UC Davis Medical School's explicit racial quota reserving 16 of 100 seats for minorities was unconstitutional. Justice Powell's controlling opinion held that race could be one factor among many in admissions, but rigid quotas violated the Equal Protection Clause. Allan Bakke, a white applicant, was ordered admitted.

Arthur Miller, a 33-year-old Black businessman, was strangled by NYPD officers during an arrest outside his home in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Officers applied a chokehold during the restraint. His death led to public hearings before the New York City Board of Estimate and calls to ban chokeholds, which were not enacted for decades.

Senator Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts, the first Black person popularly elected to the U.S. Senate, lost his re-election bid to Democrat Paul Tsongas in November 1978. No Black senator would serve until Carol Moseley Braun's election in 1992.

Republican Senator Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts, the first Black person popularly elected to the U.S. Senate, lost his re-election bid to Democrat Paul Tsongas in November 1978. No Black senator would serve in the Senate until Carol Moseley Braun's election in 1992, reflecting structural barriers to Black representation in the nation's highest legislative body.

The Court limits racial quotas while preserving affirmative action.