A Joint Statement from Democrats Abroad Global Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus (AAPI), Global Black Caucus (GBC), and Global Hispanic Caucus (GHC).
On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions policies at U.S. universities. Driven by a conservative supermajority, the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent to deal a devastating blow to diversity on our college campuses.
Race-based affirmative action is a long-standing mechanism to address social inequities and discrimination against people of color. The ruling in the cases against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina not only impacts students and communities of color directly. It robs America of future generations of business, civic, and community leaders trained at its best institutions.
Despite efforts to pit minority communities against each other, Democrats Abroad’s Global Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus, Global Black Caucus (GBC), and Global Hispanic Caucus (GHC) stand together in favor of affirmative action.
We firmly support Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other communities of color in gaining equal access to higher education. This decision ignores our nation’s history of denying Black Americans access to higher education and the role we all have in addressing this injustice. The ruling will lead to fewer Black Americans going to college and underrepresented Hispanic and AAPI students, like those from Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, and Southeast Asian communities.
We call on colleges and universities to continue to reach out to communities of color and develop ways to maintain and expand the progress that has been made in diversifying student bodies. Everyone benefits when institutions of higher education reflect our nation’s diversity, both in the classroom and beyond.
We join the Biden-Harris administration in calling on colleges and universities to consider the adversities applicants have overcome, including their financial means, where they grew up, and personal experiences of hardship, including racial discrimination.
Do not let the Supreme Court give universities a hall pass on racial diversity. Stand up for affirmative action!
In 2023, there are elections in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia & Wisconsin. Americans overseas request your absentee ballot today at votefromabroad.org. Every vote counts.