A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

OUR BRIEF WAS CITED BY JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR!

In this 2023 term, the Supreme Court dealt a heavy blow to racial equity by eliminating affirmative action in the Harvard and University of North Carolina cases. Going forward, the nation’s universitiesand law schools - will likely no longer be able to meaningfully consider race as a factor in admissions.

Last year in partnership with the Equal Justice Society, ChangeLawyers filed an amicus brief with the High Court warning about the harmful effects that eliminating affirmative action will have in education. Having outlawed affirmative action in 1996, California’s experiment failed and should be considered a warning, not a model.

Notably, our brief was cited in Justice Sotomayor’s dissent on page 60 (page 199 of the PDF opinion). Referencing how representation of certain Asian American ethnicities were negatively impacted by the elimination of affirmative action in California through Prop 209, she writes, "At bottom, raceconscious admissions benefit all students, including racial minorities. That includes the Asian American community."

ChangeLawyers is proud that we utilized our platform to raise our California experience to the Supreme Court. While we did not win, we are heartened by Justice Jackson’s words, “Race still matters to the lived experiences of all Americans.” We will continue our work to create greater opportunities for all Californians, and thank you for supporting us every step of the way.

In partnership,

Chris Punongbayan

CHRIS PUNONGBAYAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR