In today's increasingly diverse society, the legitimacy and strength of the democratic form of government depends on equitable access to graduate and professional education for individuals from all races and ethnicities. Yet, despite recent increases in enrollment, students of color remain severely underrepresented in graduate and professional studies. In this article, the author implements a difference-in-differences analytic strategy to examine the impact of "Grutter v. Bollinger" (2003) on student of color enrollment in Texas graduate schools. In "Grutter v. Bollinger," the Court upheld the right of higher education institutions to use affirmative action practices in limited circumstances. In its rationale, the Court emphasized the need for colleges and universities to consider race "in a society in which race unfortunately still matters," not only to obtain the educational benefits of student body diversity but also "to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry" ("Grutter," 539 U.S. at 333). This study seeks to provide a better understanding of whether the permissive policy in "Grutter" has helped increase student of color enrollment in graduate schools in Texas, a state where the decision lifted a ban on affirmative action practices by overruling a Fifth Circuit opinion that had prohibited the practice. Findings indicate that a permissive policy like "Grutter" can only set the stage for more targeted practices to increase student of color representation in graduate studies. (Contains 2 figures, 6 tables, and 18 notes.)