Harvard Law Enrolls Fewest Black First-Years in 60 Years

Since 1970, there have typically been 50 to 70 Black students entering their first year at Harvard Law School each fall. This year, there were just 19, representing 3.4% of the class, the New York Times reports, describing this as a consequence of the 2023 Supreme Court decision to ban affirmative action in college and university admissions. Enrollment data released Monday shows Harvard Law School (HLS) now has "the lowest number of Black entering first-year students since 1965," when there were 15, says HLS professor David B. Wilkins, who's studied Black representation in his field. Last year, the law school welcomed 43 Black first-year students, per the Harvard Crimson.

As the number of white and Asian first-year students increased, there was also a sharp decline in Hispanic first-years, with 39 (6.9%) down from 63 (11%) in 2023. The number of Black and Hispanic students also declined at other top law schools, but "less severely" than at Harvard, per the Times. The University of North Carolina, for example, now counts 9 Black and 13 Hispanic first-year students, down from 13 and 21, respectively. At a few schools, including Stanford Law School, enrollment for Black and Hispanic students increased. However, the American Bar Association only just began including non-US residents in its racial breakdown of classes, which "complicates year-to-year comparisons," per the Times.

Despite that, UCLA law professor Richard Sander argues "there was no meaningful decline" in Black enrollment as applicants rejected by top schools landed at less competitive schools. He notes Black enrollment across all law schools is up 3% from 2023 and that the data does not include multiracial students and those who declined to report their race. HLS spokesperson Jeff Neal previously noted the SCOTUS decision would impact the ability of schools to "attract and admit a diverse cohort of students," per the Crimson. In a new statement, he says HLS "remains committed both to following the law and to fostering an on-campus community and a legal profession that reflect numerous dimensions of human experience." (Black first-year undergraduates have also declined at Harvard.)