Check out my latest Washington Examiner column, where I expand on “Super Tuesday of Equality” and quote Shelby Steele’s impressions of an affirmative action debate.
Once all states eliminate government preferences based on race, problems like the ones addressed in this post will be relics of the past, at least at public colleges. Read on…
There’s a whole lot of griping going on about black immigrants benefiting from race preference policies, which are supposed to be “restitution for the harm done by American slavery and segregation.†Under this definition, only black American descendants of black American slaves qualify for preferential treatment.
A couple of months ago I linked to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education about a study titled, “Black Immigrants and Black Natives Attending Selective Colleges and Universities in the United States.†It seems that black immigrants and “multiracial†blacks are overrepresented at “selective†colleges and universities, while native (meaning, all-the-way-black?) blacks are underrepresented.
This, in the eyes of black race preferences supporters, is a problem.
According to the study, black immigrants score “significantly higher” on their SATs. Oddly enough, the higher scores don’t translate into better academic performances once in college. The study’s author attributes this to black immigrants choosing more difficult majors than native blacks.
Diversity-obsessed schools can kill two birds with one stone: fill unofficial race quotas (Shhh…) and increase the number of minority students with higher SAT scores by admitting more non-native, as opposed to native, blacks.
Some “African Americans” are very territorial with skin color privileges. Via Discriminations, I read about a 1970s-era black graduate of Mount Holyoke College who is a bit peeved because of the number of black African and Caribbean students at her alma mater and the “downturn in admissions†of black Americans. (Source)
Are race preferences about “correcting†past injustices or increasing the number of black faces on campus? And what’s the deal with the whole multiracial thing? What does that mean? Biracial? A quarter black? A quarter white? One-sixteenth black? Or is a visual assessment required? Is the one-drop rule now part of admissions polices? Questions, questions…
Since the previous questions are somewhat rhetorical, let me pose a few “answerable†ones for you. While these questions are directed to all readers, I especially want to hear from blacks who support race pref…I mean, affirmative action:
1) Adoma Adjei-Brenyah, president of the African Students Association at Columbia University, doesn’t like the descendants of slaves distinction: “If you’re going to make a slavery case, people from the Caribbean were also displaced and enslaved. How do you begin to differentiate?”
Do you agree or disagree that non-native blacks should benefit from a school’s efforts to increase racial and cultural diversity on campus? Why or why not?
2) Says Jason Lee, Harvard Black Students Association: “There’s a historical sense that black Americans are disrespected by immigrants. Parents don’t want their kids to play with them, don’t want bad habits rubbing off on them. There’s a bit of tension there.”
Why do you believe there is discernable tension between black Americans and black immigrants?
3) From the study: “To white observers, black immigrants seem more polite, less hostile, more solicitous, and ‘easier to get along with.’ Native blacks are perceived in precisely the opposite fashion.”
In your experience as a white or black American, do you find that black immigrants and multiracial blacks are easier to get along with and/or relate to than American blacks?
