Thirty years ago, affirmative action may have been a necessary step to open doors for blacks. Not so now.
Whenmy grandfather grew up, white people told him he wasn’t good enough,but black people said he was. When my father grew up, white people toldhim he couldn’t compete, but black people said he could. So imagine myconfusion when I saw blacks celebrating the Supreme Court’s 5-4decision affirming that blacks are indeed not good enough to get intothe University of Michigan Law School.
It’s ironic. Forty yearsafter the Civil Rights Act was proposed in Congress, liberals insistblacks are incapable of meeting the same standards as whites. It’sconservatives who believe in the limitless potential of blacks.*
Thirtyyears ago, affirmative action may have been a necessary step to openthe doors of American universities and companies. It helped to correcta history of racial discrimination propagated by whites, but it’s a newday in America.Today, blacks are the CEOs of American Express,AOL/Time Warner and Merrill Lynch. Oprah Winfrey is a billionaire andColin Powell is secretary of state.
This is not my grandfather’sAmerica.
Too many blacks do remain oppressed, but not by whiteAmericans. Rather, it is by blacks who relish a perverse sub-culture oflow standards and perpetual victimization. No longer do white raciststell black children books are for white people. Today, black people dothis. Every day black children suffer ridicule and disgrace for doingtheir homework, behaving in class, striving for excellence – in short,”acting white.”
And within the perimeters of this blacksub-culture, success is exalted only when it is earned in sports,music, dance and in the Democratic Party. Should a black person succeedin other arenas, for example becoming secretary of state, Supreme Courtjustice or national security adviser, he or she is exiled from therace, his or her racial identity revoked.
Within thissub-culture, blacks have narrowly defined the path to success andequate “black” with “victim.” Condoleezza Rice? Not a victim, ergo notblack. President Bill Clinton played the victim and was declared “thefirst black president.”
Other communities suffer systematicdiscrimination: Koreans, Chinese, Latinos and Jews, to name a few. Butwithin these communities people encourage each other to go to school,get good grades and go to college. In some communities not earning agraduate degree is shameful. Only within the black community isacademic or entrepreneurial success openly chastised.
Liberalblack elites should stop preaching the rhetoric of perpetual oppressionand encouraging all black people to be victims. Black leaders have done in 40 years what white people could not do in 400; they’ve made usaccept inferior status.
It is time they told the truth aboutwhich blacks affirmative action helps. Affirmative action helps thechildren and the grandchildren of Jesse Jackson, John Conyers and AlSharpton who have the money for the SAT prep courses, private schoolsand the clout to call the deans of admission should something go awry.Moreover, they all have the alumni status to get their children intotheir colleges and universities. Ironically, they all are able to dofor their children what they complain that many white Americans havedone routinely and systemically for generations.
It is time forliberal black leaders to stop hiding behind racism and admit that ourpriorities as a community have become our greatest hurdle to achievinglong-term success. They must stop dismissing successful blacks,regardless of party affiliation, as exceptions in an otherwisevictim-rich race. They must stop blaming white Americans for the sinsof the past and set goals for the future. Most white Americans live inthe 21st century; it is time more black Americans joined them.
DanaWhite is the international communications associate for the HeritageFoundation, an independent public policy research institute inWashington.
*Articles Our Position on Multiculturalism
Eachpeople creates a culture that reinforces its own unique traits. Aculture alien to that people would thus fail to reinforce their uniquetraits and ultimately lead to their dissolution and slow-motiongenocide. Likewise, mass migration of one people into another people’scountry causes unnecessary conflict, and hurts both the immigrants andthe native population of the nation.
For this reason, EAUsupports self-determination for all races and peoples; so they are freeto develop and practice their own cultures and traditions in anenvironment that will continue their own unique development.
Webelieve that European Americans have a right to decide how they willlive, and that an eventual geographic separation is necessary for thepreservation of all unique cultures and values. Our fundamentalinterest is what most benefits European Americans as a people, and thepreservation of our genes and our lands is undoubtedly in our bestinterest.
