RAYNARD JACKSON
(NNPA)—Last week liberal Blacks and Whites went crazy after the Supreme Court issued its ruling on affirmative action and the voting rights cases. Well, I happen to agree with the court in both decisions. Now, before you start calling me a “sell-out, Uncle Tom,” or “Republican,” turn off your emotions and listen to reason.
In the Black community, the mere mention of revisiting any civil rights program automatically elicits cries of “Jim Crow,” “racism,” or “turning back the clock.” Despite protestations to the contrary, in a 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court actually upheld the use of affirmative action. They simply stated that institutions must prove that they have exhausted all other remedies before they resort to using race in their admission decisions. In light of the progress we have made in this country on the issue of race, I find the court’s decision very reasonable.
What I did find troubling about this case brought by White high school student, Abigail Fisher, was her assertion of “White privilege.” She is from Sugar Land, Texas, one of the wealthiest communities in the state. She sued the University of Texas at Austin after she was denied admission to the school in 2008. According to her, “it was because she was White and that she was being treated differently than some less-qualified minority students who were accepted.”
Of course, she has no way of knowing that since the admissions process is confidential. But, she just assumes that because she is White and from Sugar Land, there is no way that a minority could be more qualified than she for admission to the school. In written submissions to the court, the school stated that even without the issue of affirmative action, Fisher did not meet the school’s standards for admission. She is “White privilege” personified.
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