Academics for Affirmative Action and Social Justice (AAASJ), a multi-racial coalition of University of Michigan students, faculty and staff, was established in 1997 to defend affirmative action through the education and mobilization of the university community. It was founded as a consequence of the lawsuits filed in 1997 challenging the University of Michigan’s affirmative action admissions policies. The lawsuits ( Grutter v. Bollinger, et al and Gratz and Hamacher v. Bollinger, et al ) were ultimately heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003.
Founded by graduate students Nadia Kim and Tom Guglielmo, AAASJ’s stated goals were: defend affirmative action; enlighten the community through education and action about the significance of race and the prevalence of racism and other forms of social injustice; and support the University of Michigan administration’s defense of affirmative action policies while also encouraging improvement of those policies.
From the guide to the Academics for Affirmative Action and Social Justice (University of Michigan) records, 1997-2000, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)
