On December 24, 2021, Amy Wax, a Law Professor at the University of Pennsylvania made racist comments in public towards Asian and Asian-American communities, which was in Conversation with Brown University Professor Glenn Loury on the Glenn Show. On January 5, 2022, Amy Wax responded the overwhelming criticisms of her words. She further made worse racist remark: “… I think the United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration”.
We, the Asian American Scholar Forum, give our statement to express our strong disagreement of her racist comments.
Amy Wax has made multiple racist comments on different ethnic groups without correct facts since she joined the Law faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001. Her most recent comments on Asians are groundless, ignoring great contributions made by Asian Americans in all the areas of the society for more than 200 years. Our position based on the facts is that the sustained leadership of the United States in the world comes from immigrants of many countries, including Asian Americans.
United States is a country of immigrants. Any racist statements reflect the thinking and possible follow up actions of individuals or organizations to discriminate against or treat unequally to one or multiple ethnic groups based on their backgrounds, colors, and religions. History has taught us that this type of statements is dangerous because they can easily trigger serious tension among ethnic groups, possibly causing social unrest, and even social chaos. Amy Wax’s words are representative of racist statements that channel xenophobic views.
As a person, Amy Wax has a right for the freedom of speech. However, as a Law Professor, she has a serious social responsibility for her statements and their negative consequences for her students, her university, and the society.