Sotomayor says University of Michigan needs more blacks

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor gestures after receiving a Doctor of Laws degree from University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, during a ceremony at the university in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) (The Associated Press)

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University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel presents Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a Doctor of Laws degree, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, during a ceremony at the university in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) (The Associated Press)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor talks with students during a bicentennial colloquia at the University of Michigan, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) (The Associated Press)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has challenged the University of Michigan to get more black students as she received an honorary degree from the school.

Asked Monday about what public universities will look like in the decades ahead, Sotomayor said they're going to "look a lot like" the University of Michigan but more diverse — a remark that drew applause. She says the number of black students at the Ann Arbor school is a "real problem."

Sotomayor says the U.S. can't "reach equality in a larger society" without equality in education. She made her comments during a forum with German Justice Susanne Baer.

The percentage of black undergraduate students at the University of Michigan has been pretty steady at less than 5 percent since 2012.