Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Race & Education: Reflections on Justice Scalia’s comments Re: Affirmative Action & Black Students
Where to begin…
noun: racism
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prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.With the above definition in mind let’s analyze what Supreme Court Justice Scalia’s comments are meant to convey to America and the world at large.A white female student’s complaint to the Supreme Court is that her denial of admission to the college of her choice University of Texas was due to the admission of minority students through Affirmative Action. Her claim is that she’s been discriminated against due to her race.
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Here is the breakdown of student body population at University of Texas at Austin according to it’s own website
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Student Profile, Fall 2015
- Gender
- Women: 51.1%
- Men: 48.9%
- Ethnicity/Race
- White: 45.1%
- Hispanic: 19.5%
- Asian: 17.2%
- Foreign: 9.7%
- Black: 3.9%
- 2 or more (excl. Hispanic/Black): 2.6%
- Unknown: 1.1%
- Black (2 or more, excl. Hispanic): 0.6%
- American Indian: 0.2%
- Hawaiian/Pac. Islander: 0.1%
Why is this important to note? Well firstly, Affirmative action was initially implemented to help increase diversity and provide equal opportunities for minorities mainly (Afro-Americans/Blacks) who through systemic/institutionally racist practices and/or policies were disadvantaged socio-economically when compared to their white majority counterparts.
Do we have to ask why was there a need for such legislation in the first place? Secondly, there are more women than men attending the school. Eventually, Affirmative Action legislation was altered to include gender and all other minorities as part of it.
In effect, Affirmative Action benefits this white woman because… ding ding ding she is a woman. What this means is her complaint of reverse discrimination on its face is false.
In addition while she is a woman she is a white woman and once again there are more women especially white women attending the school of her choice than there are black.
Question: Should the fact that more women attend the University mean that the men who don’t gain admission to University of Texas should file lawsuits as she has, claiming they are being discriminated against because affirmative action has allowed them to be denied entry due to too many women being accepted?
By far the largest group represented at University of Texas are Whites at 45% of the schools student body. Black students make up only 3.9%. She is ridiculous and should have had her case tossed out.
How did she manage to get it all the way to the Supreme Court? The legal system is expensive as hell. She’s a college student. Some might say well either it’s because some benefactor, group, or entity is backing her or because she comes from money.
Affirmative action is intended to promote the opportunities of defined minority groups within a society to give them equal access to that of the majority population. Who is the majority population?
America’s history is steeped, cultured and raised in the grip of racism. The same group of human beings who benefitted from the theft, rape, murder, slavery, double standards, & disenfranchisement of African-Americans/Blacks, now claim that Affirmative action meant to level the playing field is discriminating against them. WTF?!!! Who has all the privilege? It’s most certainly not the disenfranchised and disadvantaged.
I suggest reading the myth’s about affirmative action for more information on it’s necessity and impact on institutional racism from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/readroom/articles/affirm.htm
Now to Justice Scalia’s comments. It’s clear that an idiot and a bigot has managed to make it onto the Supreme Court. The notion that sending minority students to lesser schools where they “do well” and are better suited to a “slower track” so that they don’t feel pushed as opposed to top tier educational institutions is ludicrous and sickening. I won’t even touch his stupid comments about “Black Scientists”
Equal access for all to the best education possible gives everyone the best opportunity for success. What this means is from the start all students regardless of race, gender, creed, or socio-economic status if started with the same tools and educational opportunities could meet at the collegiate level equally capable of performing well at said educational institutions because they were given the same quality of education and preparation for the top schools.
It isn’t reasonable to expect under educated students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to be able to compete academically at top schools when they weren’t given the same quality of education foundation as their white counterparts. Again all the more reason that affirmative action is necessary. By the way socio-economic status in no way is indicative of scholastic aptitude or intelligence.
- Gender