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

Affirmative action in college admissions is “like a third rail” in Asian American communities, according to this searching study. Race studies scholar Poon (Rethinking College Admissions) tackles the contentious topic (“If you want a pleasant and conflict-free Asian American holiday dinner, I suggest not talking about affirmative action”) in 36 interviews with leading Asian American activists on both sides of the debate. She finds that proponents of affirmative action are a “panethnic coalition” who act out of solidarity with other racial groups; whereas opponents are mostly Chinese Americans who consider the policy to be “anti-Asian,” sometimes in an explicitly conspiratorial sense (in one anecdote, a group of students relay to Poon that their parents believe the California public university system is on the verge of “ban[ning] all Asians”). Startingly, she argues that both sides fundamentally misunderstand the nature of affirmative action: almost all the interviewees believe that, in certain instances, “racial quotas” have penalized individual high-achieving Asian American students. Delving into the legal history of affirmative action, Poon aims to show that this assumption isn’t true—that affirmative action has long been “holistic” rather than quota-based. Though intriguing, that argument can sometimes feel like splitting hairs; more revealing is Poon’s nuanced analysis of her subjects’ differing ideas about and experiences of anti-Asian racism. The result is a provocative must-read for readers engaged with the issue. (Apr.)