But isn’t it almost more racist to assume that African-Americans need Affirmative Action? Isn’t it worse to say that it needs to be easier for a certain group of people to go to school, to be hired, to not be fired, etc.? Isn’t it insulting to that group of people. I’m not saying that this girl has a right to complain. But just because she’s white doesn’t mean that she’s wealthy, that she’s intelligent, that she’s not in the lower class. Affirmative Action, while a wonderful idea, in a way, makes things worse for the people it tries to help by giving them too much. What if you have an upper-class, well-educated, black student applying to the same college as a lower-class, under-educated, white student? Is it fair that the black student gets in because he or she is black? Wouldn’t it be difficult, painful, and infuriating to think that one was accepted to a school, not for merit, but for the color of one’s skin?
It’s only racist to assume black people need affirmative action if you think they need because of something they’ve done, as opposed to something that’s been done to them by outside groups (i.e. white people.)
It’s no secret that black people and Latinos are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to have lower academic achievement, less likely to graduate high school, less likely to go to college, less likely to graduate college, and more likely to end up in lower paying jobs even when controlling for education. We can either assume that’s because black people are incapable of doing well, or that it’s because we live in a society where racism is still a problem and that this racism has a material negative impact on people of color. Personally, I think it’s the latter, and I think there is an abundance of evidence to back this up.
Again, no black student gets in solely or even mostly because he or she is black. It’s a points system. Race is a tiny fraction of the total points you get, and a black person isn’t going to get in if they have a significantly lower GPA, standardized test scores, leadership, or poorer essays. You get points for all those things—and others—and race is a very minor consideration. While it might be the difference between getting in and missing out between two students with otherwise very similar grades, test scores, leadership, essays, etc., it’s not going to cause a mediocre black student to get in over an otherwise well-qualified white student. That’s not how it works.
Although thank you for pointing out that coming from an upper class, educated background is also a form of affirmative action, notably one you will never hear rich, white kids from places like Sugar Land, Texas complain about.