Running head: ASIAN AMERICANS A RACIAL WEDGE IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 1

Asian Americans, A Racial Wedge in the Affirmative Action Debate

Kristen Surla

Loyola University Chicago

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The public and legal debate on Affirmative Action policies in college admissions exposes

the continued tension between racism, educational equity, and the maintenance of White

Supremacy in higher education. As a policy, Affirmative Action promotes equitable admissions

practices that consider racial background and experience as one of many deciding factors (Poon,

2012). As a policy that directly addresses racialized experiences in the United States is, in itself,

considered a radical act. Affirmative action acknowledges the systemic and historical

implications of students’ race upon their educational experience and access to competitive

resources and institutions of higher education (Poon, 2017). In recent years, opponents of

Affirmative Action have claimed that Asian Americans, as a group of people of color, are over-

represented in higher education and has caused administrators and policymakers to question the

continued importance of the policy. In this paper, I argue that Asian Americans opposed to

Affirmative Action are being used to dismantle this policy. I draw upon Critical Race Theory

(CRT) to demonstrate the historical legacy of Asian Americans as a racial wedge to leverage

policies that maintain White Supremacy and the continued oppression of other communities of

color.

As a group of “people of color” with a history of racial oppression in the United States,

Asian Americans have an impactful role within the Affirmative Action debate. Park and Liu

(2012) discussed that “...the most appealing poster children for the anti-Affirmative Action

movement are not Whites but Asian Americans—specifically, Asian Americans with stellar

academic records and perfect or near perfect test scores who have been rejected by the institution

of their choice” (Park & Liu, 2012, p. 36). This logic uses Asian Americans’ history of

oppression to argue against the policy, rather than a reason for why Affirmative Action continues

to be important. The concept of “negative action,” popularized by Kang (1996) argued that Asian
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Americans are hurt by Affirmative Action policies because White students with similar test

scores are entering institutions of higher education at higher rates (Kang, 1996; Park & Liu,

2012; Poon 2017). In this interpretation, used by Affirmative Action opponents, Asian

Americans are harmed because of their numerical overrepresentation at colleges and universities

across the United States. Asian American political organizing against Affirmative Action became

highly publicized during the recent Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin case because of their

opposition to the policy (Williams, 2017). Despite Asian Americans’ large history of organizing

in the United States such as within the fight for Ethnic Studies and the United Farmworker’s

Movement, Asian American communities have rarely occupied national media attention for their

efforts.

Ledesma and Calderón (2015) identified interest convergence as a tool used in public

debate on Affirmative Action (Ledesma and Calderón, 2015). Interest convergence is defined as

the alignment of interests between White people and liberal race-conscious admissions policies.

Interest convergence is possible when the argument or policy will ultimately benefit the

maintenance of White Supremacy. In their article, Ledesma and Calderón (2015) claimed that

Whites were supportive of Affirmative Action because “...diversity has become an important

‘commodity’ by which to market their institutions” (Ledesma & Calderón, 2015, p. 216). In

current Affirmative Action debate, interest convergence is seen again in the support of Asian

Americans’ organizing against Affirmative Action. As a more diverse student body continues to

enroll within colleges and universities, the argument that Asian Americans are harmed by

Affirmative Action is an opportunity for opponents to dismantle a formal policy that benefits

people of color.
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Opposition to Affirmative Action is oftentimes rooted in language of deserving and

undeserving due to the common assumption is that education is a great equalizer. This

assumption promotes the idea that students who work hard are rewarded regardless of their racial

background. Arguments that Affirmative Action is no longer necessary, because of increased

enrollment from Asian American populations at colleges and universities, places blame on other

communities of color for their lack of representation in college admissions, rather than systems

that create educational inequalities. The created tension and competition between and within

communities of color is a tool of White Supremacy. In his work, The Possessive Investment in

Whiteness, George Lipsitz argued:

“The power of Whiteness depended not only on White hegemony

over separate racialized groups, but also on manipulating racial

outsiders to fight against one another, to compete with each other

for White approval, and to seek the rewards and privileges of

Whiteness for themselves at the expense of other racialized

populations” (Lipsitz, 1998, p. 244).

Lipsitz’s (1998) analysis addresses the historical and legal trend of attaining Whiteness through

policy. The pursuit of Whiteness represents the attainment of economic and political power

leading to one’s autonomy and freedom.

The debate about Affirmative Action can be viewed as another manifestation of Cheryl

Harris’ (1993) concept of Whiteness as Property. Institutions of higher education have not

always been accessible to people of all racial backgrounds and today’s diverse representation in

higher education results from harsh legal, social, and physical battles. Whiteness in the United
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States holds economic, social, and political value that influences every aspect of a person’s life.

Harris (1993) argued:

“according Whiteness actual legal status converted an aspect of

identity into an external object of property, moving Whiteness

from privileged identity to a vested interest. The law’s construction

of Whiteness defined and affirmed critical aspects of identity (who

is White); of privilege (what benefits accrue to that status); and, of

property (what legal entitlements arise from that status). Whiteness

at various times signifies and is deployed as identity, status, and

property, sometimes singularly, sometimes in tandem” (Harris,

1993, p. 1725).

Access to higher education by communities of color via Affirmative Action is threatening to

White Supremacy because of higher education’s role in shaping future leadership and industry

within our nation. The stakeholders at play within this policy issue include governmental bodies

at the federal, state, and local levels, communities of color, policymakers, and faculty and

administrators at colleges and universities.

As a result of Affirmative Action, governmental and academic institutions must be

prepared to support students of color in their success and persistence through college, despite the

historical and political barriers, which have prevented them from accessing higher education. By

restricting access for communities of color, colleges and universities will not be challenged to

address systemic racial injustices within education. One example could include developing a

diverse core curriculum for college students. To develop course material that represents and

reflects its student population is a huge initiative that institutions of higher education must
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consider when enrolling a more class of students. The work of diversity and equity in education

is neither easy nor quick. It requires constant agitation and persistence to ensure the rights and

experience of communities of color is upheld. The usage of conservative Asian Americans’

experiences to diminish Affirmative Action is a prime example of White Supremacy trying to

reaffirm and reestablish its presence amidst an increasingly diverse college demographic.

Understanding the role of Affirmative Action in college admissions is important to

understanding the history of higher education. In my opinion, Affirmative Action is an important

policy that increases representational diversity and challenges colleges and universities to

respond to calls for diversity within individual offices and departments. As a member of the

Asian American community, it disheartens me to see that a small minority of East Asian voices

that oppose Affirmative Action are being highlighted, rather than those that are in support of

Affirmative Action (Poon, 2017). In addressing this issue personally, I try my best to speak up

and educate students, colleagues, relatives, and whoever else I encounter about this issue. One of

the most common examples of how views on Affirmative Action show up in my work is when I

hear students talking about students of color as “just being admitted because of Affirmative

Action.” This rhetoric diminishes the student of color’s academic abilities and displays disdain

towards diversity on campus. A phrase that oftentimes circulates in organizing communities is

K(No)w History, K(No)w Self. My approach to address resistance to Affirmative Action is to

dialogue with students about their identities and racialized histories that have led them to a place

of privilege or oppression. When I make the conversation about educational values and using

critical self-reflection, oftentimes, students are able to see the error in their statement and the

value of diversity on campus.

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Institutional policies and initiatives addressing race and equity in higher education

continue to be questioned every day. Strategic tools of White Supremacy including the interest

convergence and fostering inter People of Color community tension work against diversity

initiatives such as Affirmative Action. However, maintaining Affirmative Action is not the first,

nor the last battle to affirm civil rights legislation in the United States. As with other examples,

such as the Voting Rights Act and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), people must

continue to fight against White Supremacy in all facets of society. By adopting a Critical Race

Theory lens towards educational policy and law, students, faculty, and administrators can

become better equipped to articulate the importance of Affirmative Action and future initiatives

to promote diversity and equity on campus.

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References

Harris, C. (1993). Whiteness as property. Harvard Law Review, 106(8), 1707.

Kang, J. (1996). Negative action against Asian Americans: The internal instability of Dworkin’s

defense of Affirmative Action. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review,

31, 1–32.

Lipsitz, G. (2009). The possessive investment in Whiteness how white people profit from identity

politics, revised and expanded edition. Philadelphia: Philadelphia : Temple

University Press.

Park, J. J., & Liu, A. (2014). Interest convergence or divergence? A critical race analysis of asian

americans, meritocracy, and critical mass in the Affirmative Action debate. The

Journal of Higher Education, 85(1), 36-64.

doi:10.1080/00221546.2014.11777318

Parker, L., Ledesma, M. C., & Calderón, D. (2015). Critical race theory in education. Qualitative

Inquiry, 21(3), 206-222. doi:10.1177/1077800414557825

Poon, O. (2012, Dec 18,). A real talk primer on affirmative action, fisher, college admissions,

and race by dr. OiYan poon. Retrieved from

https://acpacsje.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/a-real-talk-primer-on-affirmative-

action-fisher-college-admissions-and-race/

Poon, O. (2017). “I had a friend who had worse scores than me and he got into a better college”:

The legal and social realities of the college admissions process. In S. M. McClure

& C. A. Harris (Eds.), Getting real about race (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage.