Download 
Re “Post-affirmative action policy offers new hope for Asian American students,” Opinion, Dec. 14: Last week, the Supreme Court affirmed the legality of Boston Public Schools’ admissions process and its explicit goal of increasing racial diversity in classrooms. This is the same Supreme Court that ruled against affirmative action at Harvard University, a harmful decision that has sparked a deluge of attacks against diversity efforts in other sectors.
Alex Shieh calls the push to increase educational access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds “a noble cause,” arguing that affirmative action does so at the expense of Asian students. Yet, this view ignores the fact that the goal of increasing racial diversity also benefits Asian students, many of whom also come from disadvantaged backgrounds. In fact, growth in income equality among Asian Americans has been outpacing other racial groups, according to the Pew Research Center.
Fortunately, the Boston Public Schools win can serve as a model for other institutions committed to addressing inequity in education. Because though opponents may borrow the language of racial justice and purport to support the cause if not the methodology of affirmative action, it’s clear the hope they offer is to the already advantaged few and not the disadvantaged many in the Asian American community.
Bethany Li
Boston
The loss of affirmative action is a setback
In the op-ed “Post-affirmative action policy offers new hope for Asian American students,” Alex Shieh claims “by stripping racial bias from their admissions policies, colleges signal to the world that American higher education is open to everyone.” Shieh plays into anti-Black tropes used to divide communities of color, claiming that affirmative action hurts working-class Asian American students while bolstering wealthy Black and Latino applicants. Simply put, these claims are false.
As the director of the Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network, a statewide coalition of AAPI-serving nonprofits, I have met with families, educators, and community leaders across the Commonwealth. What I have found is that working class AAPIs support affirmative action. Shieh’s op-ed indicates a misunderstanding of affirmative action and its role in ensuring representation of marginalized communities, including working class AAPIs. Overturning affirmative action has not beckoned a new, “post-racial” era; academic institutions have become more homogenous and less accessible. This is a setback for civil rights and the racial justice movement locally and nationally.
As AAPIs in Massachusetts, we do not celebrate this court decision because we know that ultimately, our young people suffer its consequences.
Jaya Savita Aiyer
Director
Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network
Boston
Download 
