The Rise and Fall of Affirmative Action

The Rise and Fall of Affirmative Action
Hua Hsu | New Yorker | #164 | #race #education

Affirmative action is about to die. If Edward Blum and Students for Fair Admissions get their way, colleges across the country will no longer be able to factor in race in their admissions decisions. For Michael Wang and many other high-achieving Chinese American students, elite schools like Harvard unfairly discriminate, admitting applicants with lower GPAs and test scores. But as this outstanding article explores, what we say is “fair” is complicated. Hua Hsu explains the origin of affirmative action, the history of Asian American immigration, and our country’s different notions of “justice for all.” (40 min)