WASHINGTON -- If the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in the matter of Hopwood vs. Texas is a body blow for affirmative action, minority advocates in higher education are trying hard not to show it.

"People are disquieted, but they are not panicking," says Ted Shaw, deputy general counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (NAACP/LDF). "They are going to wait and see what the Supreme Court says."

His statement came as the NAACP/LDF awaited word from the Supreme Court about whether it will review the 5th Circuit's ruling to overturn affirmative action in the admissions process for University of Texas at Austin law school applicants.

In a March 18 ruling on Hopwood vs. State of Texas, a three-judge panel ruled that the University of Texas should not give preferred treatment to minority applicants to the public law school and declared unconstitutional the practice of racial preference in admissions.

The action by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies only to Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi but, if upheld by the high court, would further unravel the fabric of affirmation action remedies now in widespread use throughout higher education.

The state of Texas and the NAACP/LDF, the nation's chief nonprofit civil rights litigator, both requested a review by the Supreme Court.

Shaw's characterization of the approach of supporters -- and practitioners -- of affirmative action suggests that they are taking a deliberate, carefully thought-out strategy for engaging what could be the climactic legal battle of the century over race.

"It is a deeply troubling opinion," says Shaw. "It means that, at least within the 5th Circuit, race cannot be taken into account and that, for diversity purposes, you cannot consider race."

Affirmative action advocates worry that, if the Supreme Court rules against Texas, it could lead to the fall of all consideration of race in higher education throughout the nation.

Yet, as race continues to dominate center stage among higher education issues, this latest action adds the highest hurdle so far to the course that African Americans and other minorities are following in the quest for equity.