The Bakke case sparked fierce debate among the justices with very little consensus. The court submitted six separate opinions. Justice Thurgood Marshall argued forcefully for affirmative action, stating "I do not believe that anyone can truly look into America's past and still find a remedy for that past impermissible." The seeds of his opinion are evident in his notes and his Memorandum to the Supreme Court Conference displayed here.
Thurgood Marshall
1978-04-13
Thurgood Marshall Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (011.00.00)