Affirmative Action is a hotly debated topic. Polls show that a majority of African-Americans support this policy, while a majority of whites oppose it. Thus, this policy of giving minority applicants to universities special preferences is an issue that divides Americans by skin color, making it particularly charged.
America has a mixed history when it comes to the subject of race. For nearly 90 years, our nation permitted slavery on her soil. For another century or so, segregation plagued many states, forcing African-Americans and other minorities into second class citizenship status. During the Second World War, Japanese-Americans were demonized in print, and many were eventually forced into internment camps. And we all know what happened to the American Indian. Thus to say that our record on race has been a smashing success would be an overstatement.
But past failures do not detract from successes. America is also the nation of Martin Luther King, Sojourner Truth, Henry David Thoreau, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglas, and Rosa Parks. Hundreds of thousands of lives were sacrificed to eradicate slavery and to end segregation. Slavery, segregation, poll taxes, and other forms of racial suppression have been legally abolished. Thus to say that our record on race is a dismal failure would also be an overstatement.
Affirmative Action is a government policy that is supposed to help atone for past injustices and combat racism that persists. The first federal Affirmative-Action legislation was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. It was controversial then and remains controversial today. It is opposed by those who stand to lose from it (i.e. white students), and supported by those who believe they can benefit from it, or those who are not affected by it (i.e. tenured professors and politicians). And while white students can certainly be adversely affected by Affirmative Action, the real losers are black students.
That's quite a provocative claim, you say. Indeed, it is. But think about it for a moment. Let us say that an elite university is considering the applications of two students. One has a 4.0 GPA, an ACT score of 31, and was involved in numerous extra-curricular activities. The other has a 3.0 GPA, a 23 on the SAT, and no extra-curricular involvement. Which student do you think stands the best chance of succeeding under this college's rigorous standards? The first one, of course. The second student is far more likely to flunk out. Yet, it is the second student who gets in because he happens to have the right skin color. It is questionable that he can graduate, but so what? The university can claim to embrace "diversity" - even if it means crushing the dreams of a good student who could have easily succeeded elsewhere. Failing out of Harvard will do one no good, but a degree from Tennessee Tech or East Tennessee State University can open many doors and lead to a productive life.
The second pernicious result of Affirmative Action is that it casts doubt on brilliant people. Using the previous example, let's say that a minority applicant has a 4.0 GPA and a 34 on the ACT. Let's say he goes to an Ivy League college and graduates with a 4.0. No matter how well he does, some narrow-minded people are still going to say, great, but he only got here because of Affirmative Action.
The myth that blacks need government help to succeed dies hard, but can easily be disproved. As Thomas Sowell points out, "The poverty rate among black families fell from 87 percent in 1940 to 47 percent in 1960, during an era of virtually no major civil rights legislation or anti-poverty programs." Thus African-Americans were succeeding on their own at a time when racism was certainly a much larger problem than it is today.
What is even more troubling is how quick some successful African-Americans are to credit their achievement to Affirmative Action. This is unfortunate, because every time I hear someone say this, I am always tempted to say, don't sell yourself short! You succeeded because you worked harder than everyone else. Because you are smarter. You confronted adversity and defeated it. And you refused to allow the scourge of racism to prevent you from realizing your dreams. Stop crediting rich white liberal politicians for your success, and give the credit where it belongs: to yourself.
John Brown (www.johnnorrisbrown.com) is a senior in political science and history at the University of Tennessee @ Knoxville. Contact him at johnnyb325@aol.com. This column originally appeared in the April 12, 2005 edition of The Daily Beacon entitled "Affirmative action has its flaws," available here.