Amicus Filing: 25 Harvard Student and Alumni Organizations In Support of College Admissions That Foster Diversity

UPDATE August 30, 2018:

Twenty-five Harvard student and alumni organizations, represented by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), filed an amicus brief August 30 in a Massachusetts federal court condemning a divisive lawsuit that seeks to eliminate the consideration of race in admissions, thereby threatening diversity at the college.

The brief, filed on behalf of 25 organizations representing diverse backgrounds and racial and ethnic heritages, argues that the elimination of race in Harvard’s college application process will lead to further discrimination towards applicants of color. The brief also describes how erasing race from the admissions process means students will be forced to hide a key part of their identity and notes how racial and cultural heritage cannot be ignored when considering any college applicant. 

Read the updated amicus filing including four additional organizations here.

Read motion of additional Harvard student and alumni organizations to participate as amici curiae here. 

Read our press release about the addition of these organizations here.

July 30, 2018:

Harvard student and alumni organizations represented by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) filed an amicus brief on July 30th, 2018 in a Massachusetts federal court, condemning a divisive lawsuit that seeks to eliminate the consideration of race in Harvard’s admissions, threatening diversity at the college.

The brief, filed on behalf of twenty-one organizations representing diverse backgrounds and racial and ethnic heritages, asks the Court to follow Supreme Court precedent recognizing that universities can consider race in a multifaceted, holistic admissions process to create a diverse student body and denounces this lawsuit’s attempt to pit historically marginalized groups against each other. 

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that colleges have the right to consider race as one of multiple factors when reviewing the full spectrum of an applicant’s identity and academic potential,” said Jin Hee Lee, LDF’s Senior Deputy Director of Litigation. “This lawsuit may claim to represent the interests of Asian American students, but in reality, it is an unabashed attempt to eliminate important efforts to foster diversity in college campuses to the detriment of all students, including Asian Americans.” 

Read LDF’s response in support of motion to participate in trial here. 

Read LDF’s response to Department of Justice involvement in this lawsuit here.

Read our press release on the amicus filing here.

Read our press release responding to SFFA opposition here.

Read LDF’s full amicus brief here.

Read Department of Justice statement of interest in opposition to Harvard’s motion for summary judgement here.

Read SFFA memorandum in opposition to amicus here.

Read LDF’s response to SFFA memorandum in opposition here.

Read our Motion for Leave to Participate as amici curiae here.

Read declaration for Harvard Black Student Association here.

Read declaration for Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association here.

Read declaration for Harvard Japan Society here.

Read declaration for Harvard South Asian Association here.

Read declaration for Harvard Islamic Society here.

Read declaration for Harvard Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students here.

Read declaration for Asian American Brotherhood here.

Read declaration for Fuerza Latina here.

Read declaration for Asian American Women’s Association here.

Read declaration for Harvard Vietnamese Association here.

Read declaration for Coalition for a Diverse Harvard here.

Read declaration for Phillips Brooks House Association here.

Read declaration for First-Generation Harvard Alumni here.

Read declaration for Native American Alumni of Harvard University here.

Read declaration for Harvard University Muslim Alumni here.

Read declaration for National Board of Directors of Harvard Latino Alumni Alliance here.

Read declaration for 21 Colorful Crimson here.

Read declaration for Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance here.

Read declaration for Harvard Black Alumni Society here.

Read declaration for Association of Black Harvard Women here.

Press: 

• Julie J. Park, ‘All the Black Kids at Harvard Are Rich,’ and Other Dangerous Myths About Affirmative Action, Education Week (February 28, 2019)
• Young Jean Lee, I’m Asian-American. Affirmative Action Worked for Me. The New York Times (February 9, 2019)
• DeRay Mckesson, Clint Smith, Samuel Sinyangwe, and Brittany Packnett, Pod Save the People, Worthy (November 27, 2018)
• Daniel Lobo, My unlikely journey to Harvard sheds light on race lawsuit, CNN (October 15, 2018)
• Ivy Yan, I’m Asian American. I Go to Harvard. I Don’t Want Affirmative Action to Go Away. Teen Vogue (September 26, 2018)
•  Jill Radsken, Harvard Files Motion Backing Student Testimony at Trial, The Harvard Crimson (September 21, 2018)
• Delano R. Franklin and Samuel W. Zwickel, Five Things You Need to Know About the Harvard Admissions Lawsuit, The Harvard Crimson (September 4, 2018)
• Katie Benner, Trump’s Justice Department Redefines Whose Civil Rights to Protect, The New York Times (September 3, 2018)
• David Gura, Jeannie Park and Victoria Defrancesco, DOJ Sides With Student Lawsuit Which Claims Harvard Racially Discriminates, MSNBC (September 1, 2018)
• Michael Martin, Yukong Zhao, Jeannie Park and Jane Mayer, Barbershop: The Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Against Harvard University, NPR (September 1, 2018)
• Colleen Walsh, Hundreds of Experts, Scholars Back Harvard in Admissions Suit, The Harvard Gazette (August 31, 2018)
• Harriet Alexander, Trump Administration Sides Against Harvard in Asian-American Affirmative Action Case, The Telegraph (August 31, 2018)
• DOJ Sides with Asian-American Students in Suit Against Harvard, CBS News (August 31, 2018)
• Katie Benner, Asian-American Students Suing Harvard Over Admissions Win Justice Dept. Support, The New York Times (August 30, 2018)
• Jin Hee Lee, A Lawsuit Seeks to Erase Harvard Applicants’ Racial Identity. It Reveals What Some Americans Still Don’t Get About Discrimination, Time (August 20, 2018)
• Madison Trice, The Affirmative Action Lawsuit Against Harvard Isn’t Really About Fairness, Refinery 29 (August 20, 2018)
• Laura Krantz, A New Skirmish in Harvard Admissions Case, Boston Globe (August 17, 2018)
• Jeannie Park, Outrageous Argument Posed in Debate Over Harvard Admissions, Boston Globe (August 3, 2018)
• Colleen Walsh, Standing with Harvard in Admissions Case, Harvard Gazette (July 31, 2018)
• Deirdre Fernandez, Elite Colleges Come to Harvard’s Defense in Affirmative Action Case, Boston Globe (July 31, 2018)
• Anemona Hartocollis, The Rest of the Ivy League Comes to Harvard’s Aid in Admissions Challenge, The New York Times (July 30, 2018)
• Benjamin Wermund, Harvard Affirmative Action Policies Defended by Civil Rights, College Groups, Politico Pro (July 30, 2018)
• Deirdre Fernandez, Harvard Denies Discriminating Against Asian-Americans, Boston Globe (July 27, 2018)

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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.