Dear AACE Supporters:
At the end of 2023, we are thrilled to report that this year has been a historic one for Asian and all Americans. On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-based college admissions (Affirmative Action). Starting from this application cycle, Asian American children will no longer be treated as second-class citizens in college admissions. The rulings will help reduce the unbearable study load caused by anti-Asian discrimination and remove a major barrier in Asian children’s pursuit of the American Dream.
Since 2014, the founders of Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) have been fighting side by side with Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), especially in the court of public opinion. After Mr. Edward Blum was viciously attacked by the liberal media, co-founders of AACE stood up. In May 2015, we united 64 Asian-American organizations and jointly filed a civil-rights complaint against Harvard, exposing anti-Asian discrimination in college admissions on the national stage. Since then, AACE has been galvanizing Asian communities nationwide, standing firmly behind SFFA’s lawsuits against Harvard and UNC.
AACE has built increasingly large alliances in Asian-American communities, growing from 64 partner organizations in 2015 to 368 in 2022. We have filed five amicus briefs in support of SFFA’s lawsuits at various levels of the federal courts. In collaboration with partner organizations, AACE has helped recruit students to join SFFA lawsuits and organized two historical rallies in Boston and Washington, D.C.
Led by AACE and supported by all of you, Asian communities have played a pivotal role in support of SFFA for the historic victory of restoring equal education rights for ALL Americans in ALL colleges nationwide. On June 29, 2023, when the Supreme Court announced the rulings on SFFA v Harvard/UNC, AACE co-founders Yukong Zhao, Chunyan Li, Jack Ouyang and secretary Xiaoming Sheng and other Asian community leaders and parents held a celebration rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, and issued a statement, calling the Supreme Court Ruling as “A Historic Victory for Asian and All Americans.”
With this historic victory, leaders of AACE are not complacent. We continue fighting for equal education rights.
- On August 25, 2023, AACE issued a comprehensive policy statement titled “It’s Time for All American Colleges to Restore Meritocracy in Their Admission Processes,” urging colleges to faithfully implement Supreme Court’s SFFA Rulings and restore meritocracy in college admissions.
- On September 12, 2023, AACE sent a letter to Common Application Organization, urging CommonApp Organization not to transmit student race data to colleges during admission processes.
- On September 28, 2023, AACE president Yukong Zhao testified at the Higher Education Subcommittee of the U.S. Congress, presented AACE policy recommendations on college admissions [You can watch his testimony starting at 24:30 in this video: How SCOTUS’s Decision on Race-Based Admissions is Shaping University Policies (youtube.com)]
- On October 30, 2023, AACE sent a letter to Ms. Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, urging the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to take immediate action to address the appalling discrimination endured by Stanley Zhong.
- On December 7, 2023, AACE sent a letter to Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington, urging the school to stop illegal use of race in admissions and its summer programs.
In addition to fighting for equal education rights, AACE also advocates for other core interests of Asian Americans. In April 2023, AACE submitted policy inputs to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, urging them to reject divisive racial equity policies and effectively address rising violence, hate crimes, and systemic racism against Asian-American communities.
In summary, 2023 is a historic year for Asian communities and for AACE. With your support, AACE fought side by side with SFFA for over 9 years and we finally won this historic battle for the equal education rights of Asian and all Americans! Be proud of yourselves!
Finally, AACE want to assure you that we will not stop here. We will continue monitoring American colleges to ensure the Supreme Court’s rulings are faithfully implemented. We will also fight to restore meritocracy in college admissions, including the proper roles of standardized testing.
To continue our work, we need continuous funding and support from Asian communities. Please use following link to donate:
Donate to Asian American Coalition for Education
Wish you and your family a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
Asian American Coalition for Education