Asian Pacific American Law Journal

In SFFA v. Harvard, the Supreme Court effectively overruled forty-five years of precedent and held that the educational benefit of racial diversity is no longer a “compelling interest.” This decision effectively ends race-conscious college admissions. Interestingly, Asian Americans featured prominently in the litigation. The plaintiff, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), specifically emphasized the plight of Asian Americans as innocent victims of discrimination.

SFFA is no NAACP. It is neither a household name nor a storied civil rights organization. It is instead an entity created by Ed Blum, a California businessperson who has long litigated against affirmative action and voting rights laws. Blum is recorded on video saying “I needed plaintiffs; I needed Asian plaintiffs . . . ” Why seek Asians? It’s because Asian Americans can be framed as especially sympathetic victims, “model minorities” cruelly harmed by affirmative action.

Given this framing, with its long pedigree, Asian American ambivalence about affirmative action should not be surprising. Indeed, after the SFFA opinions came down, a UCLA colleague reached out to celebrate that the Supreme Court had just struck down discrimination against Asian Americans. I felt disheartened to suggest that he was mistaken.