RACISM + POLITICS
Without Affirmative Action, White People Will Get Even More Opportunities
Will the Supreme Court bring down the hammer on Black applicants? Let's unpack this
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Without affirmative action policies, White people will receive academic and professional opportunities deprived of Black people and marginalized groups. Our society does not need increased representation for White people. Still, if the Supreme Court decides to stop "race-based affirmative action," then less diversity will be the way of the future.
This latest push by conservatives would leave gender-based affirmative action intact, especially because White women have been the primary beneficiary of affirmative action policies. Ironically despite their ability to use this policy to further their representation in the workplace, many White women have been on the front lines against race-based affirmative action. As a result, black people often find themselves on a lonely island in a sea of opportunity.
We hear a lot about affirmative action being reverse discrimination, but that's not true. What affirmative action attempts to do is balance the scales. The term discrimination is misused here because receiving opportunities is not the same as enduring exclusion because of your race. Is it that difficult to understand that inclusion is a good thing?
I could have sworn we learned that lesson when picking dodgeball teams. Remember, the schoolyards taught us not to leave anyone behind. Maybe it's because many Americans attended racially segregated schools. I'm not sure. But, many White people do not see Black Americans as members of the same team. So often, Black people are left on the sidelines, wondering why they are less likely to obtain positions after graduation.
Working in New Orleans restaurants, I realized that almost every one of my former co-workers had a college degree. And while it's fair to say some of them enjoyed working in the service industry, many complained that they only took these jobs because it's the only thing White people would hire us for. So many Black Americans are trapped in positions they don't want because too many White Americans become gatekeepers for progress, diversity, and…
