Following the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate race-based admissions in U.S. colleges, an Asian-American mother and education activist, who strongly opposes such practices, took to social media to express her joy and posted a celebratory tweet.
“I told my daughter that today is a big day,” Yiatin Chu said in a June 29 Twitter post viewed more than 20 million times. “They’ve ended affirmative action. ‘Isn’t it what you’ve been fighting for?’ she asked. I said yes.”
After expressing her celebration over the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate race-based admissions in U.S. colleges, Yiatin Chu, an Asian-American mom and education activist who opposes such practices, faced accusations of supporting white supremacy. Public figures Soledad O’Brien and Jemele Hill criticized Chu for her tweet, suggesting that it undermined the work of previous civil rights activists.
Chu, who immigrated to the United States and advocates for education reform, vehemently denied the allegations, emphasizing that her approval of the Court’s ruling was not connected to endorsing white supremacy.
“This is not to try to denigrate some other groups of people,” she insisted Monday. “It’s really about fighting for our equal rights to be treated no better.”
As the president of the Asian Wave Alliance, Chu highlighted the importance of acknowledging the rights of Asian-Americans, as well as any other group, to advocate for their interests. She advocates for a system that promotes fairness and equality in opportunities, particularly within higher education.
Expressing a cautiously optimistic viewpoint regarding the consequences of the Court’s decision, the joyful mother also emphasized the need for colleges and universities to be held accountable for effectively implementing the new mandate. Chu emphasized that institutions should ensure unbiased treatment of all applicants, irrespective of their racial or ethnic background.
The Supreme Court’s decision aimed to eliminate discriminatory practices, with the goal of creating a more equitable playing field in the college admissions process. Edward Blum, a legal activist who has long campaigned against race-conscious policies, also welcomed the Court’s ruling. Blum played a significant role in Supreme Court cases against Harvard and the University of North Carolina regarding their admissions practices, firmly believing that an individual’s race or ethnicity should not influence their opportunities in life.