DEEP DIVE: '...ending racial quotas' in America

He says he fought 50 years ago and was denied a job with the FBI because he didn't meet a quota. Yet, 30 years later, current Councilman and Attorney Larry Kobrovsky went on to successfully litigate the end of 'race based' admissions in Charleston Schools.

Today, Kobrovsky shares why the US Supreme Court's decision to end 'Affirmative Action' practices in College and University admissions is a victory for:

"...everyone who believes in the idea of America ... confirming we have the right to be judged and evaluated on what we make of our lives, not based on skin color or where our ancestors came from."

Thanks for listening!

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
This is the Kelly Golden Show podcastto take no better person locally to talk
about the Supreme Courts elimination of racebased admissions preferences for college Larry Growski,
current County councilman, I know,but also an attorney who is very well
versed in this. For what reason, Let's start there, Well, Kelly,

(00:26):
first, thanks for asking me.This is I think historican a great
day for America because it confirms thatenter constitution. You know, you're an
individual citizen. You're not a blackcitizen, a white citizen and Hispanic citizen,
and that's the glue that holds usall together. Is very special.
And Kelly, this is something thatyou know, I fought for it hopeful

(00:49):
for fifty years, going back toeven when I was in high school applying
to college. Just like they nowhave Asian clothes, and that's what this
case was about. I'm Jewish andthey had Jewish quotas then to keep us
out. And I remember being inlaw school, Kelly, you know,
I was taking up that course inthe US Constitution and I applied to be

(01:11):
was graduating law school. I appliedto the SBI to being FBI agent because
I had worked my way through lawschool being a private investigator, and I
enjoyed it. I thought I couldput that skill to work with being an
attorney. And this is under PresidentQuarter. And when I applied, they
said they wouldn't take my application becauseI was the wrong race or ethnic group.

(01:33):
And I said, what do youmean, them studying the constitution?
How can you say this? Andthey said, and I told him I
was Jewish and they said, well, I said, how many Jewish FBI
agents started there, So, well, that's not good enough. You're not
the right kind of minority. Isaid, well, my mother's family came
from Lithuania, how about that?And they left there because they were racial
and ethnic quotas about keeping us outof the schools and universities. So that's

(01:56):
not good enough either. I said, well, my father's only came from
what was Poland originally, and theysaid that's not good enough either. And
ever since then I wanted to doeverything I can to use my skills as
a lawyer to fight racial and ethnicquotas and the constitutional law class I had
at the time, Kelly, itwas Telfer Taylor. He had been the

(02:20):
chief a US prosecutor at the Nuremberg, Charles of the Nazis, and of
course their system was based on racialand ethnic preferences, whereas if you had
one ancestor they considered bad and youwere you condemned or disqualified and discriminated against.
And when I was on the CharlestonCounty school Board, we had ethnic

(02:42):
and racial quotas in place for missionsinto LATINUS schools and Kelly one day there
was a hearing and the mother wasobviously a Filipino background, and the father
looked Irish or English, and wehad to make a decision based on whether
the child was a minority or not, because if they were, they get
in. If they weren't, theywould be excluded based on the racial quotas.

(03:05):
And I walked out of the rumorsaid, we can't tolerate this.
You know, who you marry orwhat you look like shouldn't determine your mission
in this school or any rights youhave in America. You're an American citizen.
You're not an Asian citizen or aEnglish citizen. You're an American citizen.
And I bought the case. Thenthat ended racial and ethnic quotas into

(03:28):
our Magnet schools. And to thisday, there's a Federal court order stating
that you know, they can't askabout race or ethnicity get into magnet schools.
And this is something that Supreme Courthas wrestled with Kelly for quite fifty
years, and today it's over.They ruled at the Constitution in the fourteenth
Amendment means what it says, youcan't discriminate based on race or ethnicity to

(03:53):
get in colleges. And this hasa much wider application because as you know,
a universities now in schools and businesseshave diversity equity, including offices which
are based as political commersars that basicallyenforce racial preferences. So this, this,
you know, is a huge youknow, many millions of immigrants to

(04:15):
come to America on the hope anddreams that here finally is the place that
you leave the ethnic and racial hatredsand divisions behind and here you here a
United States citizen, where you canrise or fall on your own abilities and
inherent characteristics. If you work hard, you can get ahead and no business

(04:36):
of what your background is. AndI know, after the Second World War,
my father fought in Europe against theNazis, and I remember coming home,
we always told me he was workingas a truck driver for living foods,
and of course the part in capacitythey still more polish, and when
they found out where you wish that, you know, fire them. And

(04:57):
I just feel in America that you'rerace or ethnicity or religion should never be
held against you. And this isa victory for all of us who believe
that it will not be spun thatway in the propaganda press and with the
groups that you just mentioned, withdiversity and an inclusion and you know that.
So how do we get pass andeducate people to recognize that any kind

(05:23):
of you know, racial preferences inacademic admissions, I mean, it's racism.
It's wrong. Any any form ofracism is wrong, right, And
instituting preferences like that to disadvantage peopleof any academic or ethnicity, I should
say, by denying them access orany kind of educational opportunities, is anathetical
to our constitutional freedoms. Well,Kelly, that's exactly in all the very

(05:46):
things that you said is what thecourt elequently and forcefully pointed out. The
way I combated it, you know, through the have a constitutional essay contest
that I sponsor and I've handed outprobably over one hundred thousand constitutions already in
the last ten years, because thelanguage is very simple that you can't do

(06:09):
it. And you notice, theone thing that all those di people and
the diversity commissars never mentioned are isthe words of the Constitution and the Spoor
Teeth Amendment that spells it out.And the Court said in the opinion to
guarantee of equal protection cannot be onething when applied to one individual, and

(06:30):
something who when applied to someone else. And distinctions between citizens solely because of
their ancestry, by their very nature, odious to a free people whose institutions
are found upon the doctrine of equality. This is if all the things you're
saying, and then it is oneof the principal reasons race is treated as

(06:54):
a forbidding classification is that it demeansthe dignity and worth of a person could
be judged by ancest and instead ofby his or her own a meritan essential
qualities. We have to remember whowho's going to be spinning the narrative here,
right, This is people who believethat our Constitution is a racist document
written by racist colonizers. So whenit comes to what really should be the

(07:18):
focus here, because here's Larry Kobrowski. He's the guy who you know ended
racial quotas in Charleston County schools.How many years ago was that case?
Twenty years ago? So twenty yearsago this was an issue. Now we
see the highest levels when when wehave Justice Jackson not even taking part in

(07:40):
considering this decision in this case,what's your reaction to that? Well,
she wrote a dissent, and youclearly set out the problem. The decision
was six to three. The threepeople who descended on this basically used critical
race, just like you said,to make their argument why it's so important

(08:01):
who appoints the Supreme Court justices hadthe Democrats been in control, they believe
in critical race theory, and that'swhat the descent was because of all the
arguments you just said. But thesix three decision ruled it's unconstitutional and this
is the law of the land.This is a huge decision with ramifications for

(08:22):
all that stuff. But as anattorney there don't you find it with your
history, this incredibly disturbing of thisjustice. This was a slam dunk easy
vote. Sadly, though we've politicizedeverything, including our Supreme Court. What
we do, I mean, anybodythat reads the Constitution in the language.
That's why I've always been so consistent. Larry Kobrowski, current County councilman,

(08:46):
of course, had a pass withschool board in CCSD getting rid of this
kind of race base admissions in schoolsin Charleston County charter schools decades ago.
Now we're seeing it to the highestcourt in the land. They made the
right decision. Let's put a bowon this with why we should be happy,
because you know, the narrative willcontinue to be that this is racist

(09:07):
and people are disadvantaged, and ohmy gosh, put a bow on why
the court saw through a facade ofwhat is the racist lefts frankly bigoted policies.
Well, Kelly, it's the confirmationof what the Constitution is about,
and it confirms that our rights ascitizens of the United States. We're all
individuals. I think this is coreto who we are and something we should

(09:31):
celebrate. It's the American exceptualism.We're not white citizens, black citizens,
Hispanic citizens, or Asian citizens wereUnited States citizens that we have the right
to be judged and evaluated based onwhat we make of our lives, not
our skin color or where ancestors camefrom. And they had like a racial
spoil system where they based decisions.They had a two tier system when you

(09:56):
applied to colleges that go one groupor basically, what defines most important thing
about you that they need to knowis your skin color or ancestry. Another
group what defines you that is howhard you work and intelligent you are.
And they've had a bifurcated system likeand this means from now on when you

(10:16):
apply to colleges and they'll have awider application that you're going to be judged
by who you are as an individual, not who your ancestors are, and
not how valuable are invaluable they consideryour skin color or ethnicity brings to the
admissions table because they did, theyhad plus citizens and minus citizens. You
were evaluating your worth in the admissionspolicy was how hard you work and intelligent

(10:41):
was secondary to what they d eior whatever you want to call them.
The diversity equity officers think that youbring to the table and how valuable are
because of your background. And Ithink this is something in a day that
all Americans should be proud of it. Reconfirms America and exceptionalism, and that
were individuals and all of us havethe right to be judged by how hard

(11:05):
we work in what we do withour lives, and not who our parents
were, our ancestors, or whatyou look like. They should be a
victory for every one who believes inthe idea of America. And of course
there'll be great pushback, but I'dlike to point out that among people,
all of our of all backgrounds,are on our side on this, because

(11:26):
even in California, Kelly, I'llpoint out, they had a referendum just
like a few years ago on affirmativeaction, and that's I think all of
us would agree, as the mostliberal progressive state in the country, and
the voters voted to against affirmative action. In fact, that was the redo

(11:46):
of it, because the two yearsbefore that they had a referendum that our
side one convincingly that the progressives broughtit back again and they've lost again.
So in Michigan they had a referendumon it, and we also won that
fight. So wherever, even inthe Northwest, I mean, most people
agree with us on this, Sowe have to be strong and now we

(12:09):
have the Supreme Court vindicating again whatit means to you know, being a
citizen. Kelly. It's a hugevictory for everybody that believes in the idea
of American exceptionalism, that we're individualsand who we are in life is to
some of how we conduct ourselves andnot you know, what we look like.
Our worry ancestors came from. AppreciateLarry, thank you for weighing in.

(12:33):
Kelly, Thank you that Kelly GoldenShow podcast