Blog 3

Affirmative action creates reverse racism. Discuss.

     While I understand the argument that affirmative action creates reverse racism by highlighting racial differences in the college admissions process and choosing a student of color over a white student to raise diversity numbers, I do not believe it actually does. Firstly, I actually reject that there is even such a thing as reverse racism. People of color have been racially targeted and oppressed for the entirety of American history excluding precolonial times. When a member of a marginalized group or minority is favored over a white person, that should not be referred to as reverse racism; it seems foolish to label it so because white people have been favored for ages without being labeled racists. In fact, the white population is still racist towards people of color both consciously and subconsciously.
     I think affirmative action is simply an effort to reverse some of the racial marginalization present in our country. Yes, the process may raise the question of whether or not a student gets into a school by their own merit or simply because of his or her race, but merit is really only depends on how many resources were available to he or she growing up. Without affirmative action, white, financially privileged students with access to everything they need, would continue to excel in the top universities in our country while students of color in under-served schools would attend lower-quality universities or not go to college at all.
   In theory, affirmative action should not be necessary. In the future, the system of affirmative action should be discredited. But, for now, it strives to bring about equity in the college admissions process and eradicate the cycle of white privilege. If college admissions were equal and not equitable, schools would be full of white students who have been tutored and trained their whole lives. Furthermore, affirmative action does not create reverse racism because most universities in the US have a student body with only 4 or 5 percent African Americans; it's not like people of color are butting white people out of the college admissions process.