APIAHiP Statement on US Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action

WASHINGTON – With today’s ruling by the Supreme Court on affirmative action cases involving Harvard and University of North Carolina student admissions, APIAHiP remains committed to supporting affirmative action as a policy that advances equity and justice, including for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians.

“It is impossible to dismantle centuries of racism without acknowledging and considering race in the decisions we make today and in the systems we operate in,” stated APIAHiP President Michelle G. Magalong. “In 1996, as a freshman at UC San Diego when Proposition 209 [where California became the first state to enact a formal ban on racial preference] passed, and I witnessed how this policy significantly shaped the importance of advocating for equity and justice, and the need to work in solidarity with other historically marginalized groups. This is a stark reminder that we must remain committed to the work of advocating for diversity, justice, and equity in the field of historic preservation, and for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans and other communities of color.”

Asian & Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation (APIAHiP) is a national network of preservationists, historians, planners, and advocates focused on historic and cultural preservation in Asian & Pacific Islander American communities.​​​​ Our mission is to protect historic places and cultural resources significant to Asian and Pacific Islander Americans through historic preservation and heritage conservation.

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