Is Affirmative Action fair or is it just reverse racism?
I am not sure I would call it reverse racism at all. People of color have been denied their freedom for many years now, and though freedom is not as hard pressed, it is still not enough to make up for what is still going on to bar the African American society from advancement.
Affirmative Action is supposed to signify positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. Contrary to what people believe, it is not limited to the people of the black community.
Would Dr Martin Luther King Jr. have supported Affirmative Action? Who really knows? Some say that his call to judge individuals by the content of their character indicates that he would not, but others who have researched his comments on the issue indicate that he would. There are people among the black race who say there is no longer a need for affirmative action. A lot of these people have made it to the top, and refuse to look back at the ladder that helped them to climb to their position.
However, throughout my college career, I felt as if I was only accepted to institutions such as the University of Maryland because of my race. As a freshman, it was highly advertised that 27% of the student body were of minority decent. What they failed to mention was that the majority of those who either tranfered or got kicked out were people of color. That really doesn’t signify increased representation of minorities to me. It shows that it is all about the image and representation of Univeristies such as Maryland. They would rather flaunt how many minorities are accepted than to try and make steps into keeping the minorities in their school. I thought I was an average high school student as I was applying to college. My overall GPA was about a 3.5 and my SAT’s were ok. What really bothered me when I found out that I was accepted to Maryland was the fact that other people who had a higher GPA than mine and higher SAT scores were either placed on the waiting list or accepted in the spring semester of school. I realised that I was accepted early and in the fall semester of freshman year, and though these students were supposedly academically smarter than I was, I was black and they were all white. I felt like a statistical number rather than a student before I even set foot on campus.
I just don’t know if affirmative action is really effective in helping minorites come up or if it is just a way for institutions to make themselves look good. For example, a leauge as prominent as the NFL now has a rule that they have to interview a colored person for a head coach position. But to this date, there are only 7 black coaches in the NFL. In a league now dominated by African Americans, how is it that blacks make up less than 25% of the coaching and managerial positions? Maybe its time we further re-evaluate the necessity of Afirmative Action…..
I am not sure I would call it reverse racism at all. People of color have been denied their freedom for many years now, and though freedom is not as hard pressed, it is still not enough to make up for what is still going on to bar the African American society from advancement.
Affirmative Action is supposed to signify positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. Contrary to what people believe, it is not limited to the people of the black community.
Would Dr Martin Luther King Jr. have supported Affirmative Action? Who really knows? Some say that his call to judge individuals by the content of their character indicates that he would not, but others who have researched his comments on the issue indicate that he would. There are people among the black race who say there is no longer a need for affirmative action. A lot of these people have made it to the top, and refuse to look back at the ladder that helped them to climb to their position.
However, throughout my college career, I felt as if I was only accepted to institutions such as the University of Maryland because of my race. As a freshman, it was highly advertised that 27% of the student body were of minority decent. What they failed to mention was that the majority of those who either tranfered or got kicked out were people of color. That really doesn’t signify increased representation of minorities to me. It shows that it is all about the image and representation of Univeristies such as Maryland. They would rather flaunt how many minorities are accepted than to try and make steps into keeping the minorities in their school. I thought I was an average high school student as I was applying to college. My overall GPA was about a 3.5 and my SAT’s were ok. What really bothered me when I found out that I was accepted to Maryland was the fact that other people who had a higher GPA than mine and higher SAT scores were either placed on the waiting list or accepted in the spring semester of school. I realised that I was accepted early and in the fall semester of freshman year, and though these students were supposedly academically smarter than I was, I was black and they were all white. I felt like a statistical number rather than a student before I even set foot on campus.
I just don’t know if affirmative action is really effective in helping minorites come up or if it is just a way for institutions to make themselves look good. For example, a leauge as prominent as the NFL now has a rule that they have to interview a colored person for a head coach position. But to this date, there are only 7 black coaches in the NFL. In a league now dominated by African Americans, how is it that blacks make up less than 25% of the coaching and managerial positions? Maybe its time we further re-evaluate the necessity of Afirmative Action…..
wow. true story. Idk what to make of it either.
ReplyDeleteit often comes off as a "free pass" and no one wants to feel like they only achieved something b/c someone gave it to them. I don't think that affirmative action is necessary. Yes blacks have been delayed in getting their foot in the door but now we have equal resources to achieve our goals. It is up to every individual what will become of them.
about the NFL...that's damn sad. I hope that changes soon.
I hope it changes to lover, at this point I don't feel like AA is necessary either. I think we have come a long way and we are more than capable of achieving our goals w/o AA.
ReplyDelete