Blog #3

Affirmative Action + Reverse Racism

It has proven to be difficult for Americans to admit that not only is affirmative action good thing but also is still very much necessary in this day in age. On top of having to admit that the effects of systemic racism are long lasting and can still be very much felt today, but at the core of realizing that affirmative action is necessary, is having to admit to the false promise of the American dream. It’s admitting to the fact that not everyone has the same opportunity to make it in America by working hard and trying there best, which is understandably daunting because it differs from what’s drilled into us as Americans from an early age.

I understand calling into question the fact that by trying to encourage diversity, we are just highlighting differences, but highlighting these differences are still very much necessary even today. To say that highlighting differences isn’t necessary is comparable to denying white privilege. The whole idea behind affirmative action is creating an equal playing field, where everyone has the ability and opportunity to achieve success, despite where they might be starting. 

People also claim that affirmative action promotes unequal standards based solely upon race; hypothetically a person of color does not have to do as well a white person to be accepted to the same school. This argument is flawed because what prompts people of color to maybe not do as well as a white person but still get into the same school is contextualization. This is actually very much a positive, because it means that people have began to realize that not everyone has the same opportunity to do well depending on race or social class. So comparing a low-income person of color to a middle class white person is not a comparison, because these to people are starting at very different places. On the topic of affirmative action, President Johnson stated, "You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say you are free to compete with all the others, and still just believe that you have been completely fair." Although this comment was made in 1965, it still combats the same arguments that are being made against affirmative action today. By saying affirmative action promotes reverse racism is claiming we are living in post-racial America, and I personally don’t believe we’ve made anywhere close to enough progress to take on that claim.