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The Coalition for a Diverse Harvard called on Harvard to reject recent Department of Education guidelines prohibiting any race-conscious practices on college campuses and reaffirm its support for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in a Feb. 24 letter to top University leadership.
“Harvard cannot and should not preemptively submit to federal administration directives to dismantle higher education as we know it,” the Coalition wrote in the letter to University President Alan M. Garber ’76, Provost John F. Manning ’82, and Penny S. Pritzker ’81, senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing board.
The Coalition directly addressed the Dear Colleague letter that was published by the Office for Civil Rights on Feb. 14, which they said “radically misinterprets the law.”
The Dear Colleague letter establishes the Education Department’s interpretation of the 2023 Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious admissions to prohibit the consideration of race in all aspects of campus life, though it does not put new law on the books. The Department of Education has threatened the federal funding of educational institutions that receive Title VI funding and do not comply with the directive.
“This letter does not create or change the law,” the Coalition wrote. “It is designed to instill fear, spread confusion, and create a chilling effect.”
They encouraged Harvard leadership to “fight back to preserve the mission and values of a Harvard education.”
The Coalition urged the University to “actively and vocally support diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives at Harvard,” which would include the public rejection of the Department of Education’s threats against race-conscious programming, such as minority graduation celebrations and affinity groups.
In a reply to the Coalition’s letter, Garber wrote that “University leaders are working to identify the ways in which emerging regulations and legislation may affect our institution and to address their implications.”
The Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, which was formed in 2016, is a group of more 2,400 Harvard affiliates advocating for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on campus. The organization emerged as an outspoken advocate of affirmative action as Harvard fought a nine-year legal battle over its race-conscious admissions practices.
In 2018, the Coalition submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in SFFA v. Harvard. They also organized a protest on campus after the court ultimately struck down the use of race-conscious admissions in 2023.
The letter was co-signed by multiple affinity groups including the Appian Way Alliance for Alumni of Color, Black Alumnae of Harvard Equity Initiative, Harvard Arab Alumni Association, Harvard Black Alumni Society, Harvard Gender and Sexuality Caucus, Harvard Progressive Jewish Alumni, and Native American Alumni of Harvard University.
The Coalition also cited the decrease in Black and Native American enrollment at the College, the decrease in Black enrollment at Harvard Law School, the layoffs at and outsourcing of the Legacy of Slavery Initiative, restrictions on protests, and the continued lack of an Ethnic Studies department as dispiriting developments on campus.
“We appreciate that President Garber has reaffirmed the critical role of diversity at the University,” Itzel Vasquez-Rodriguez ’17, a member of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, wrote in a statement to the Crimson.
“Now, we want him to act with courage on those convictions and to make it clear that Harvard’s administration will not give in to intimidation,” Vasquez-Rodriguez added.
—Staff writer Cassidy M. Cheng can be reached at cassidy.cheng@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cassidy_cheng28.
—Staff writer Claire T. Grumbacher can be reached at claire.grumbacher@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @clairegrumbachr.
