Black Enrollment at Harvard Law School Plunges

Enrollment of Black students at Harvard Law School decreased after a Supreme Court decision banned the use of affirmative action in college admissions, according to the school's enrollment data.

Harvard Law enrolled 19 first-year Black students (3.4% of the class), the lowest number since the 1960s, according to data from the American Bar Association. Last year, the law school's first-year class had 43 Black students, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

Since 1970, 50 to 70 Black students have made up the law school's first-year class, David B. Wilkins, a Harvard law professor who has studied Black representation in the legal profession, told the New York Times.

The law school also saw a steep decline in Hispanic students with 39 (6.9%) this fall, down from 63 (11%) in 2023, the New York Times said. Enrollment of white and Asian students increased, according to the Times.

The share of Black first-year undergraduate students at Harvard this fall also dropped from 18% last year 14%, according to data released in September, the Times reported.

Harvard Law spokesman Jeff Neal said a diverse student body is vital to legal education.

"Harvard Law School 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," Neal said.

The number of Black students enrolling in law school nationally increased to 3%, according to the American Bar Association.

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