Dear Asian Americans Against Affirmative Action, Be Careful Who You Call a Friend…
Race-conscious admissions and hiring policies have long been fraught with controversy and explosive legal battles. Recently, an upsetting trend has emerged wherein anti-affirmative action advocates have discovered an ally of color, Asian Americans. The cases in question, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard [1] and WA Initiative-1000 [2], have garnered the attention of the general public and elicited mixed opinions within the Asian-American community [3]. Nonetheless, one thing is certain, the conclusion of these proceedings will undoubtedly change the landscape of how race and ethnicity will be utilized in the hiring and admissions processes of our public institutions.
As an Asian American, I am disappointed and upset that we have aligned ourselves with folks who want nothing more than to abolish affirmative action. However, my frustrations have been directed towards understanding this alliance rather than simply ruminating over it. By critically analyzing this racial relationship, it is clear as to why we have been selected yet again as a tool to promote policies that oppress people of color.
I begin with a quote from my all-time favorite movie trilogy — Rush Hour (rumor has it that Rush Hour 4 may be in the works!). The classic buddy-cop films, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, often depict a white male antagonist. In a scene from the second installment [4], Tucker’s character explains his “theory of criminal investigation” to Chan’s character: “follow the rich white man…every big crime has a rich white man waitin’ for his cut”. Now to be explicitly clear, there is no “crime” in either of the two previously mentioned examples. However, particularly in the SFFA v. Harvard case, we find that there is a “rich white man waitin’ for his cut”. That “rich white man” is Edward Blum, a radical conservative and fervent anti-affirmative action supporter [5], and his “cut” is removing race/ethnicity from consideration in school admissions policies. But why does he need Asian Americans [6], and why now?
For years, Blum has masterminded efforts to undermine and destroy affirmative action-based admissions policies in higher education. Blum is not a lawyer, but he is a crafty strategist [7]. Along with Abigail Fisher (a white student), he argued in Fisher v. University of Texas, that the use of race/ethnicity in the University of Texas’ admissions process violated the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment [8]. Although he ultimately failed in his attempts, his fight went all the way to the Supreme Court on two separate occasions (The SFFA v. Harvard lawsuit will very likely be taken to the Supreme Court — potentially marking three times that a Blum-backed case has been appealed at the highest court of law) [9]. Consequently, Blum recognized that an opportunity to align with a group of color was in his best interest. He needed to incite anger within that chosen community of color, and have them rally against affirmative action. This is where Asian Americans come into play.
In the lead-up to SFFA v. Harvard, Blum recruited disgruntled and angry Asian Americans who were rejected from Harvard. One way was through the website Harvardnotfair.org [10]. Blum and company’s messaging was clear: they were fighting for racial equality and the rights of Asian Americans. Furthermore, some Asian American applicants who questioned Harvard’s admissions policies also personally contacted Blum [7]. Blum’s interests seemingly converged with our own interests. However, Blum’s record on racial justice speaks for itself [11]. The truth is that his advancement of Asian Americans is merely a facade. We are being used as a tool to systematically limit opportunities for people of color (including Asian Americans) through the abolishment of affirmative action. Indeed, Asian Americans have been used throughout contemporary American history as an instrument to oppress people of color and maintain white hegemony, particularly through the conception and propagation of the “model minority” stereotype [12]. What’s even scarier is that anti-affirmative action supporters have been gifted with a legal godsend — a majority conservative Supreme Court [13] that could potentially overturn decades of affirmative action policies geared toward supporting peoples of color, if this case makes its way to the Supreme Court.
To be clear, my critique is not meant to be pessimistic, it is meant to be critical. This thought piece is an examination of one aspect about how individuals in the dominant position use their power and privilege to hack away at the rights of those with less power and privilege. So, for those in the Asian American community who oppose affirmative action, think long and hard about who you decide to befriend because not everyone is who they seem to be. Oh, and I didn’t forget about Washington I-1000. The first link on a Google search of this initiative yields its Ballotpedia page [14]. Interestingly enough, those who oppose I-1000 (which attempts to reinstate affirmative action in Washington state) are Washington Asians for Equality and…several “rich white men waitin’ for their cut”.
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Cited Works
[1] Lockhart, P.R. “The Lawsuit against Harvard That Could Change Affirmative Action in College Admissions, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 19 Oct. 2018, www.vox.com/2018/10/18/17984108/harvard-asian-americans-affirmative-action-racial-discrimination.
[2] Blake, Ryan. “Legislature Reinstates Affirmative Action in Washington by Passing Initiative 1000.” Spokesman.com, The Spokesman-Review, 29 Apr. 2019, www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/apr/28/legislature-passes-i-1000-in-closing-hours/.
[3] “Asian Americans’ Attitudes toward Affirmative Action: Framing Matters.” Data Bits, 1 Oct. 2018, aapidata.com/blog/aa-attitudes-affirmative-action/.
[4] Joe Davis. “Rush Hour 2 Carter’s Theory of Investigation”. Youtube, April 27, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gp9QE3prHs
[5] Savage, David G., and Molly Hennessy-Fiske. “Conservative Legal Strategist Has No Office or Staff, Just a Surprising Supreme Court Track Record.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2015, www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-supreme-court-strategist-20151222-story.html.
[6] Oiyan Poon. “Edward Blum: ‘I needed Asian Plaintiffs’”, Youtube, July 30, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBvo-05JRg
[7] Hsu, Hua. “The Rise and Fall of Affirmative Action.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2019, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/the-rise-and-fall-of-affirmative-action.
[8] “Fisher V. University of Texas .” Fisher V. University of Texas, www.oyez.org/cases/2012/11-345.
[9] “Harvard Affirmative Action Case Has Exposed a Chasm in the Asian-American Community.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-10-12/affirmative-action-case-drives-wedge-in-asian-american-community.
[10] Balingit, Moriah. “How Low-Income Asian Americans Became the Forgotten Minorities of Higher Education.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Mar. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/03/18/feature/does-affirmative-action-help-or-hurt-asians-who-dont-fit-the-model-minority-stereotype/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fdbda7a71d77.
[11] Thompson, Krissah. “Edward Blum Defies Odds in Getting Cases to Supreme Court.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 25 Feb. 2013, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/edward-blum-defies-odds-in-getting-cases-to-supreme-court/2013/02/25/2d6e06ac-7b8e-11e2-a044-676856536b40_story.html?utm_term=.8648a8adcf0b.
[12] Poon, O., Kodama, C., Byrd, A., Chan, J., Manzano, L., Furr, S., Bishundat, D. (2016). A Critical Review of the Model Minority Myth in Selected Literature on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education. Review of Educational Research. 86(2), 469–502. Doi:10.3102/0034654315612205
[13] Liptak, Adam, and Alicia Parlapiano. “Conservatives in Charge, the Supreme Court Moved Right.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 June 2018, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/28/us/politics/supreme-court-2017-term-moved-right.html.
[14] “Washington Initiative 1000, Affirmative Action and Diversity Commission Measure (2019).” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/Washington_Initiative_1000,_Affirmative_Action_and_Diversity_Commission_Measure_(2019).
