When universities admit black
students, they use traditional crite
ria and only give them special con
sideration when they remember
how they were treated in the past.
A third argument used fre
quently to oppose Affirmative
Action is that it condones reverse
discrimination. The reverse dis
crimination position says that dis
crimination against one race is just
as bad as discrimination against
another. The reverse discrimina
tion cry has even prompted UNC-
CH trustee John Pope to call for
race-blind admissions. Pc^ claims
there has been a decrease in the
number of white males attending
college, and he attributes this to
Affirmative Action. From 1987-
1990, the number of white males
in-state attending UNC dropped
from 944 to 846. The number of
)lack males increased by only one
half of one percent. Reverse dis
crimination is one of the strongest
arguments used against Affirma
tive Action. African Americans
were oppressed by Jim Crow laws
or decades which called for legal
separation of races in all public
accommodations. Yet, white
America expects the world to be
lieve that Affirmative Action
places them at a disadvantage in
society.
If colleges and universities use
Affirmative Action to admit mil
lions of blacks, the numbers who
enter will nevercatch up with those
who historically were denied ad
mission. The reverse discrimina
tion cry is based on white people’s
fear that they will lose power if
jlack people receive equal treat
ment Members of the majority are
support this argument Both of
these reasons also support the ar
guments for Affirmative Action.
First Affirmative Action is im
portant as long as racism contin
ues to exist in society in covert and
overt forms. Institutionalized ra
cism continues to inhibit many
qualified African American stu
dents from attending college.
Research shows that large percent
ages of whites still hold prejudices
against blacks and have negative
stereotypes of blacks. The nega
tive stereotypes held by whites
reinforce that fact that racism is
still alive. The National Opinion
Center in Chicago conducted re
search on racism and prejudice in
the U.S. Statistics collected by the
center show that 78 percent of
whites still think blacks prefer to
be on welfare rather than work for
a living. In addition, the number of
whites who think blacks are more
prone to violence than themselves
was 56 percent What is even more
disturbing is that in 1991,53 per
cent of whites surveyed still be
lieve black people are less intelli
gent than themselves.
Affirmative Action is an im
portant policy because it is diffi
cult for black students to gain
admission to predominantly-white
univCTsities as long as whites hold
these prejudices. No one can deny
that the admissions boards of pre
dominantly-white universities lack
a substantial number of blacks.
Consequently, it is difficult for
black people to gain traditional
admission or receive fair consid
eration as whites. The Civil Rights
Act of 1964 prohibits discrimina
tory practices in higher education.
black students when they were
forced to do so. James Meredith
was allowed to enter Ole Miss
only after the NAACP Legal De
fense Fund fought for him and also
with the protection of U.S. Mar
shals. Until society becomes race-
blind, admission boards must also
continue to utilize Affirmative
Action because without this pol
icy black students will never be
able to receive fair consideration
in the admission process.
Secondly, admissions cannot
ignore race as a factor as long as
jlacks in general come from eco
nomically, educationally and so
cially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Some colleges make attempts to
include students who come from
disadvantaged backgrounds to en
courage diversity among their
student population. Some univer
sities have acknowledged the fact
that all students do not start off at
the same level, and what they
achieve may depend upon their
economic background. Colleges
must take into consideration that
studentscome fixxn different back
grounds, which breakdown along
racial lines. There are students who
must overcome substantial eco
nomic and social disadvantages to
attend college, and black students
are among those.
Statistics show that some blacks
are never given a chance to achieve
let along seek a postsecondary
education. Bom in poverty with
Reflections
willing to help the minority just
enough to relieve their guilty con
sciences; however, if the minority
makes progress, then the majority
will fight against all other efforts
to help them attain total equality.
In other words. Affirmative Ac
tion is a good policy as long as it is
not enforced because it could in
crease the number of African
Americans who are able to attain a
higher education. Affirmative
Action does not discriminate
against whites— it only gives mi
norities a chance to enjoy the same
opportunities that white people
have enjoyed for decades.
College admission boards can
not ignore race in the process, and
there are two main reasons that I
but officials from the U.S. office
of civil rights do not sit on the ad
missions boards. If large percent
ages of whiles still believe that
blacks are not hardworking, then
perhaps they will also think they
are not qualified to enter a top
institution of higher learning. Even
in 1991, racist incidents indicate
that society has not reached the
level of examining each person
based on his or her qualifications
rather than race. However, under
an Affirmative Action policy,
colleges are forced to evaluate
intelligent black applicants and
give them a chance to pursue a
higher education. The key word is
force because history shows that
white universities only admitted
no hope for the future, they fight
against odds to “make it.” Eighty-
seven percent of black children in
single-parent households live be
low the poverty level. Conse
quently, there are two million poor
black families in the U.S., even
though they comprise only 13
percent of the population. The
average black child can expect to
spend 15 years of his life in pov
erty. Despite obstacles, some 30
percentof black highschool gradu
ates from poor families attend
college.
Predominantly while universi
ties who attempt to admit students
from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds cannot deny that race
plays a factor because African
Americans are disproportionately
poor. College admissions boards
must look closely at black stu
dents who have overcome ob
stacles in order to ensure that they
admit a wide variety of students.
Of course, there are students from
all races who come from low in
come families, but the number of
poor blacks is disproportionate to
their numbers in the population. A
poor student and a rich student
may have the same motivations
and intelligence, but the poor child
cannot help the fact that his oppor
tunities are limited by his financial
status. As long as blacks in general
continue to come from disadvan
taged backgrounds, colleges must
also continue to consider race in
the admissions process.
Black people are always en
gaged in a battle to fight against
racism in society. Every policy
that is designed to help them is
scrutinized by those who want to
deter the progress of the race.
Affirmative Action is only one
case where people oppose a policy
designed to help blacks. One need
only look at the Supreme Court’s
latest ruling which did away with
forced busing to achieve racial
integration in schools. The veto of
the Civil Rights Act of 1990 and
the ruling on minority scholarships
also indicate that African Ameri
cans have a long road ahead. Afri
can Americans are fighting for their
total economic, social and politi
cal liberation— trying to rewin
battJes they had already won.
African Americans should expect
animosity toward Affirmative
Action from those who have never
been the victims of discrimina
tion. It is obvious that some people
just don’t understand what is means
to be a member of an oppressed
minority. Affirmative Action is a
policy that attempts to acknowl
edge the fact that racism is histori
cally rooted in American society.
Black people must fight for the en
forcement of Affirmative Action
to ensure that African American
students receive fair consideration
in their attempts to receive admis
sions to top-ranked institution of
higher learning.
"America owes my people some of the dividends...She
can afford to pay, and she may pay. I shall make them r ^
understand that there is a debt to the Negro people which I =
they never can repay. At least, then, they must make' |
amends." -Sojourner Truth '■!
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