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Following the Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action at two of the nation’s top colleges, diversifying student bodies, correcting historical wrongs against communities of color, and advancing equity through college access will require new approaches.
I am a first-generation college graduate whose parents only advanced up to eighth grade. They were restaurant workers, moving our family from town to town across the southern states of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, looking for opportunities. I graduated from a Mississippi public high school in 1999 and moved to Chicago to attend the University of Chicago. Without visiting the campus, I decided where to attend college based on which pathway would cost the least money and get me out of a small town where I felt like I didn’t belong.
I am also an Asian American woman. My mother heard a rumor that colleges discriminated against applicants of Asian descent and suggested I leave that off my application. I wanted to be evaluated by the merit of my application, so I followed her advice.
Race-based affirmative action, a policy aimed at increasing representation for students of color at colleges and universities, will leave a complex legacy. For all the good it has accomplished, it has also fueled a scarcity mindset, pitting communities of color against each other. I felt this as a young student applying to college.
Lina Jean Fritz is the Regional Vice President of Innovation for OneGoal in Chicago, an advocate for equitable postsecondary access, and lead strategist for Summer Hub Chicago, an online resource developed to help all Chicago high school graduates plan and pay for their college and career paths.
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