I don’t recall the writer, but I remember the message on why Affirmative Action based on race, ethnicity, sex, etc., was not fair. I was in favor of and still support civil rights. But all I expected with the passage was a level playing field. The field is not level; while it may help a lot of minorities and women, it fails in excluding white males who may be economically disadvantaged and need a leg up. Where is the fairness that the daughters of Obama get a helping hand with their college careers and help in procuring contracts, while the son of a poor working-class white person does not?
If I have ever been accepted because of my ethnicity, I am not aware of it. The only place it could have happened was when I was accepted into the law school at the University of Houston. I graduated, was not near the bottom of the class, and was in the top ten percent of the bar exam.
Way too often, what happens with minorities who receive government contracts is that they have political connections that help them get those contracts. That is not how affirmative action programs should work. The people who get the contracts also tend to be ahead of most people economically.
Again, college admissions into the top schools should be based on class. If a person comes from a poor household, has to work to support the family while still maintaining good grades, and does well on whatever tests they take, it should help them to get admitted, but that includes everyone.
County:
HOUSTON – The Harris County Commissioners Court has voted in approval of an affirmative action program for women and minority-owned businesses to have more opportunities in county contracts.
The new program has the support of many groups, including the support of the Houston contractors association.
The goal of the affirmative action program is to steer 30% of county business to women- and minority-owned businesses.
It will require county departments to make an effort to reach out and select MWBE firms as a prime or subcontractor for every project.
“I was shocked that $90 out of $100 goes to firms that are owned by white men,” said Michelle Mason, President and CEO Houston Graphic Signs. “That was shocking to me. That tells me I don’t have a chance, so I kinda need a push that opportunity.”
Numerous writers and lecturers agree with the concept of class-based affirmative action.
The following is a very short quote from a very long article worth reading.
Placing race and ethnicity at the forefront of one’s analysis of social progress indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of class in our material reality. History is driven by the nature of the forces of production and our relation to them. Things like racism and bigotry are products of this reality, and although they may possess a life of their own, I believe they find their origins in economic conditions. As a result of this misconception, many have become more preoccupied with sticking to their group and their particular interests or with pandering to minority groups by making empty gestures that bring about little to no meaningful change.