The university doors that I so easily walked through in 1995 were opened by civil rights activists who demanded access for all Americans, not just their own group. The opportunities my parents and I had were only possible because of the long fight for civil rights and political recognition led by black Americans. My father attended a segregated Chinatown school but eventually graduated from San Francisco State.īut this “hardworking immigrants” narrative is only a small part of the story. After immigrating from China, my grandfather worked as a janitor and my grandmother worked in a garment factory. As a graduate of UCLA and Yale, I can explain my own educational trajectory with reference to my grandparents’ sacrifices and their deep belief in the value of education. It is tempting to think that Asian-American success depends only on our efforts. The proposed legislation did not move forward. Despite this group advantage, there was a tremendous outcry among some influential Chinese American groups when California legislators recently attempted to pass legislation to allow race-conscious university admissions.įearing that Asian-American applicants would be unfairly disadvantaged, the groups lobbied Asian-American lawmakers, who initially had supported affirmative action. While educational disparities exist across different Asian groups in the United States, a significant portion of the Asian-American community is relatively advantaged compared to other groups when it comes to education.
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