Asian American is Not a Color: Conversations on Race, Affirmative Action, and Family

The National Center for Institutional Diversity continues our conversation concerning the June 2023 Supreme Court decision, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFFA) v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard) and SFFA v. University of North Carolina (UNC), Nos. 20-1199 & 21-707, that effectively ended race-conscious admissions practices. See our previous events for reference:

• Affirmative Action and Black Student Success: The Pursuit of a “Critical Mass” at Historically White Universities
• In the Face of Resistance: Advancing Equity in Higher Education

We move this discussion to examine the book Asian American Is Not a Color: Conversations on Race, Affirmative Action, and Family by Dr. OiYan A. Poon. Within this book, Dr. Poon as “a mother and race scholar seeks to answer her daughter's many questions about race and racism with an earnest exploration into race relations and affirmative action from the perspectives of Asian Americans.”

In this book talk, Dr. Poon will offer an overview and deep insight into her text, which contends with the complex racial positionalities of Asian Americans and their roles in shaping the future of race in the US. Accompanied by a stellar panel of scholars, she will address what higher education can and must continue to do to meet their public missions; specifically within the context of the political climate of continuing attacks on efforts toward intersectional racial equity and justice, in the aftermath of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling on race-conscious admissions.