Asian Americans and Affirmative Action—Again

Asian Americans at last have been introduced to the civil rights movement, but in the awkward role of potential spoilers apparently opposed to the interests of African Americans and other people of color. Asian Americans now are the plaintiffs in the ongoing attacks on affirmative action and diversity more generally, in lieu of whites depicted as innocent victims in a spoils system. This informal Essay, based on the keynote address at 2019 symposium on Asian Americans and Affirmative Action, presents ten points in an effort to provoke people to think for themselves, not to persuade them to think as I do. These issues are not new. Asian Americans were involved in the traditional civil rights movement, in a manner not customarily recognized. They have occupied an uneasy position with respect to affirmative action since before the Bakke decision, mentioned in an earlier case since forgotten. I have been working on these issues since I started my career and published on the subject 32 years ago in a newspaper op-ed. I have argued on behalf of equal, fair, and just treatment of Asian Americans and in the advancement of bridge building with others who historically have been excluded. I continue to believe it possible to advocate for Asian Americans as well as universal principles that are needed to sustain a diverse democracy. I offer these thoughts to honor the late Chancellor Chang-lin Tien, who led the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) with distinction. As the first Asian American to head a research university in the States, he was a champion of academic excellence and affirmative action as complementing one another. What do we want Berkeley to look like? Who belongs here? And to whom does it in turn belong? The University of California (UC) system is a public good. It is the engine of economic growth.