A lawsuit claiming that Asian-American students were victims of illegal discrimination in the Harvard College admissions process goes to trial in Boston this week. The plaintiffs assert that Harvard uses what amounts to an unlawful quota system, which results in qualified Asian-Americans being denied admission, in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But, at its core, the lawsuit reflects the American conservative movement's legal and political assault on people of color, which has been endorsed and abetted by President Trump. The Trump Administration has sought to limit voting rights, backing voter-suppression efforts; it has demonized immigrants; the President himself has repeatedly targeted prominent African-Americans for abuse. The Trump Administration is also supporting the Harvard lawsuit.
The lawsuit is the latest brainchild of Edward Blum, a conservative activist who has made a career of attacking laws and policies that have historically assisted African-Americans. Blum shepherded the Shelby County lawsuit, which the Supreme Court used, in 2013, to gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was also behind Fisher v. University of Texas, which challenged the admissions practices at U.T., and which twice failed, by a narrow margin, in the Supreme Court. The Harvard case is essentially a rerun of Fisher, except with the prospect of review by a newly reinforced and expanded conservative majority on the Court.
Read Full Article »