Black vs Asian: the False Divide of Affirmative Action | Explains

The US Supreme Court is currently debating whether affirmative action discriminates against Asian Americans by giving their spots to less qualified Black candidates. For instance, Calvin Yang - now a student at UC Berkeley - claims that his admission to Harvard was denied because of his race. Many have called this an incredibly disempowering tactic to divide two historically oppressed communities who have benefited from working together.

What is true is that the greatest beneficiary of affirmative action is white women–and because they have so rarely been placed at the center of the conversation, they don’t even know it. Affirmative action was implemented off the backs of Black and Asian activists. Meanwhile, 70% white women, whose university enrollments more than doubled after these policies were implemented, oppose it.

Host, Researcher & Writer
Ryan Alexander Holmes

Producer
Stephanie Tangkilisan
Keshia Hannam

Director of Photography
Justin Guo

Editor & Animator
Alan Pun

Associate Producer & Additional Research
Manal Ahmed

Editor-in-Chief
Keshia Hannam

Head of Production
Stephanie Tangkilisan

Sound Mix
David Alba

Graphic Design
Samuel Kang
Fitra Pratama
Annie Zhao

Additional Archival Material
Getty Images
CNN
NPR
Kajabi
Britannica
PBS Learning Media
Asian Americans for Equality
Amazon Web Services
MSNBC
Tiktok/victoriaalxndr
Tiktok/funkshe
Brewbound
Tiktok/youngqim
Teen Vogue
Vox

Additional Music
Life as We Make It by Olive Musique