Charles Barkley has long supported his home state of Alabama and his alma mater, Auburn University. After the recent decision by the Supreme Court to gut Affirmative Action, he did so again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upon hearing the Court’s decision, Barkley changed his will and left $5 million for Black students at Auburn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn my will, I am leaving Auburn $5 million,\u201d Barkley said after last week’s ruling<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m going to change it to be just for scholarships for Black students. That\u2019s just my way of trying to make sure Auburn stays diverse.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Supreme Court ruled that race can no longer be used in college admissions, which will most likely lead to a decline in enrollment of Black and Brown students at colleges and universities across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s already a reality in nine states (Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington) that had previously banned Affirmative Action<\/a>. Black undergraduate enrollment at the University of Michigan, for example, declined from 7% in 2006 to 4% in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Barkley can’t change the ruling, he’s doing something to personally help Black students at his beloved alma mater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always lacked diversity,\u201d Barkley said. \u201cI\u2019m doing my part to make sure we are more diverse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barkley’s assertion is correct based on Auburn’s enrollment demographics.<\/a><\/p>