A Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action Thursday sent shockwaves through the Massachusetts education and political ecosystems, prompting leaders across the state to label the conservative-led court as “extreme” and pledge to uphold diversity.

Justices ruled admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause by allowing for the consideration of race in the entrance process. The admissions landscape after the ruling will force institutions of higher education to seek out different methods for achieving diverse student populations.

Writing in the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said that for too long universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”

In Massachusetts, where more than a hundred colleges and universities dot cities and towns from Boston to Springfield, many were quick to proclaim that the decision largely discriminated against prospective students of color and protected access to elite institutions for the wealthy and well-connected.

In messages to the schools’ community, both Harvard and UNC leadership said they intend to comply with the decision and announce next steps “in the coming weeks.”

“We continue to believe deeply that a thriving, diverse intellectual community is essential to academic excellence and critical to shaping the next generation of leaders every day,” said Harvard President-elect Claudine Gay in a video address to community members. “… In the coming weeks, we’ll be working to understand the decision and its implications for our policies. While we don’t have all the answers about what’s next, we do know that we will move forward together.”

Gay noted the decision “feels deeply personal” for many and means a “real possibility opportunities will be foreclosed.”

The court’s decision “overturns decades of settled law,” Gov. Maura Healey, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, and 100-plus other political and higher education leaders said in a statement.

Massachusetts “will always be welcoming and inclusive of students of color and students historically underrepresented in higher education,” the group said. The Healey administration earlier this month set up a 42-member group to advise the governor on the effect of the Supreme Court ruling.

“We will continue to break down barriers to higher education so that all students see themselves represented in both our public and private campus communities,” the statement said, which was signed by numerous academic institutions in the state. “Massachusetts, the home of the first public school and first university, will lead the way in championing access, equity, and inclusion in education.”

The two cases were brought by conservative activist Edward Blum and his group Students for Fair Admissions, which filed the lawsuit against the schools in 2014.

The group argued the Constitution barred the use of race in college admissions, and institutions could use other, race-neutral ways to build a diverse student body by focusing on socioeconomic status and eliminating preferences for children of alumni and major donors.

But the two schools pushed back, arguing that even though they use race in limited ways, eliminating it completely would make it more difficult to assemble student bodies that represent the country.

“We write today to reaffirm the fundamental principle that deep and transformative teaching, learning, and research depend upon a community comprising people of many backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences,” Harvard leadership said in a letter to the community Wednesday.

Other schools around the state sent out releases following the decision, expressing the intent to review their policies and determine any mandatory changes.

The chancellors at the five UMass schools – which readily list affirmative action policies for employment but not admissions on their websites – signed off on a letter saying they will assess how admissions processes may be affected by the ruling but, like many, will sustain a “commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Massachusetts’ Democratic congressional delegation blasted the Supreme Court. Rep. Ayanna Pressley labeled the court as a “far-right extreme” body that “will only exacerbate the systemic oppression that has barred Black, brown, and other marginalized students from equitable opportunities.”

“This damning decision to overturn decades of legal precedent and ban race-conscious admissions is just the latest in the white supremacist assault on equity in education, but we can’t back down in this fight,” Pressley said in a statement.

Sen. Ed Markey used the moment to push for an expansion of the Supreme Court, arguing Republicans had “stolen” two seats from Democrats.

Rep. Katherine Clark, the second highest ranking House Democrat, said the ruling undermines five decades of precedent “and our nation’s march toward progress — obstructing students of color from exercising their right to equal opportunity in higher education.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren dubbed the court “extremist” and accused justices of having “reversed decades of settled law, rolled back the march toward racial justice, and narrowed educational opportunity for all.”

Attorney General Andrea Campbell said the Supreme Court decision ignore “dark and traumatic” parts of the nation’s history. She said enforcement of the ruling “will be probably in many ways” part of her office’s duties “but more to come on that.”

“I know folks even in the office are grieving. I imagine so many Americans and also people of color and Black residents are grieving as well. I want folks not to give up hope,” Campbell told reporters outside her office.

Materials from the Associated Press were used in this report.