Coalition for a Diverse Harvard:

Harvard and Radcliffe alumni, students, staff and faculty

fighting for diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice

at the University and in higher education at large

 

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Fighting for Inclusive Admissions at Harvard

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Diverse Harvard supports Harvard's commitment to a diverse and inclusive campus and to a holistic evaluation of each candidate's unique qualifications. Inclusive, holistic admissions at Harvard and in higher education at large are under threat from a lawsuit brought by Edward Blum under the guise of "Students for Fair Admissions” (SFFA). As part of our mission to fight for diversity, equity and inclusion, the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard decries Blum's ultimate goal of banning any consideration of race in admissions and his divisive tactics. We see this lawsuit as part of a larger effort to undermine diversity more broadly, and we are fighting it in court--with a victory at the district court level and on appeal!

 

We are proud to stand in solidarity with 24 other Harvard student and alumni organizations* in an amicus (friend of the court) legal effort led by the esteemed NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF). Our briefs argue that removing race from the admissions process would not rectify any discrimination against Asian Americans but would instead deepen racial disparities in admission rates and result in an advantage for white applicants. Black, Latinx, Native American, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander applicants would be disproportionately impacted. Moreover, colleges cannot assemble a diverse student body without considering how race affects each applicant’s opportunity to build a strong college application. Applicants of color face racial bias in standardized testing and extreme inequities in primary and secondary education due to implicit racial bias and structural racism.

 

As we await a decision from the US Supreme Court, we urge all alumni to read coverage of the lawsuit critically, get informed and speak up in op-eds, letters to the editor, and social media, especially when you see media coverage that is misleading. This will be a long and difficult fight, and your voice is needed.  

 

Coalition for a Diverse Harvard also continues to lobby Harvard to strengthen its ethnic studies programs and to establish a university-wide center on the study of race and ethnicity.   And we endorse candidates we feel will best promote diversity in the Overseer and Elected Director elections.

 

Please become a Coalition member and join our Facebook group!

 

• Join our 2000+ members at our website homepage, diverseharvard.org,

 

• Join our Coalition for a Diverse Harvard Facebook group, where we post information about diversity at Harvard and related issues.  And follow us @harvarddiverse on Twitter!

 

• Write to us at HarvardCoalition@gmail.com to join our ethnic studies campaign, our affirmative action working group, or our communications team.

 

Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, Inc. is a Delaware non-stock corporation exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. We are independent of Harvard University.

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Thank you!

Jane Sujen Bock '81, Margaret M. Chin '84, Jeannie Park '83, Kristin R. Penner '89, & Michael Williams '81

Coalition for a Diverse Harvard Board of Directors      

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*21 Colorful Crimson, Association of Black Harvard Women, First Generation Harvard Alumni, Fuerza Latina of Harvard, Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance, Harvard Asian American Brotherhood, Harvard Black Alumni Society, Harvard Islamic Society, Harvard Japan Society, Harvard Korean Association, Harvard Latino Alumni Alliance, Harvard Minority Association of Pre-medical Students, Harvard Phillips Brooks House Association, Harvard Progressive Jewish Alumni, Harvard South Asian Association, Harvard University Muslim Alumni, Harvard Vietnamese Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Women’s Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Black Student Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Chinese Students Association, Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, Native American Alumni of Harvard University, Native Americans at Harvard College, Task Force on Asian and Pacific American Studies at Harvard College