Affirmative Reaction

With race-based admissions policies in legal jeopardy, an elite magnet school dropped affirmative action. The results: plummeting diversity and hard feelings.

By Catherine Gewertz

Alexandria, Va.

On David Sneed's first day at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology last fall, he attended his first six classes without seeing another black face. It wasn't until the last period of the day that he discovered another black freshman. The only other black freshman. "I looked around and I was like, 'Wow! There aren't many others like me,' " David recalls. "People are really friendly here, but I still feel pretty self-conscious about it sometimes."

In just one day, David learned firsthand that to be black—or Hispanic—at one of the most prestigious public high schools in America is to be a rarity. In David's freshman class of 430, there are only two black students and seven Hispanic students, down from 21 and 19, respectively, four years ago. Of 1,671 students at Thomas Jefferson this year, 94 percent are white or Asian-American.

Those numbers have caused an uproar in the well-off Washington suburb of Fairfax County, Va., echoing in microcosm scores of affirmative action disputes nationwide. What began as an exploration of ways to mend the expanding racial divide at this distinguished magnet school has boiled over into a painful debate about racism, poverty, merit, and opportunity. Teachers, parents, students, and administrators have wrestled with the issue in spirited hallway arguments, tense school board meetings,...