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Published:Wednesday, September 3, 2008
When diversity doesn’t come naturally, mandate it
EDITOR:
I have a lifelong friend who confessed to me recently that he occasionally experiences bigotry and/or racism for up to several days at a time and has, on several occasions, in his adult life. I told him that I never would have known of what he calls his “suffering”, and I asked him what, if anything, in his past life might have triggered these occasions.
He said, “Cecil.” Just that. Cecil.
When he began to discuss his relationship with Cecil, it came out something like this:
In third grade, at the age of 9, my Caucasian friend was “best buddies” with an African-American boy named Cecil. They were inseparable. Until, one day, and again and again over a period of months, Cecil and my Caucasian friend were taken to the cloak room by their African-American teacher, “Mrs. A” for short, and they were beaten with the wooden end of a broom, brutally, on the buttocks, the shoulders, and the backs.
My friend’s parents soon withdrew him from the Youngstown grade school and moved the family to the suburbs.
Now, in his fifties, my friend maintains that “Mrs. A” was a black separatist. He says he cannot think of another reason for the numerous beatings.
My friend is not an expert on “affirmative action” or “diversity”, but he claims we (Caucasians) owe minorities, and especially black Americans, more than just words or thoughts. He cites the University of Michigan Law School ruling by the Supreme Court and the recent AMA announcement that amounted to both an apology and a promise to do better in terms of medical school acceptances and graduations of our black brothers and sisters and other minorities (e.g. Hispanics, Native-Americans, Asian-Americans).
My friend agrees that “quotas” are going too far, but that some sort of diversity should be litigated where there is still unquestionable inequality in the various schools and “working professions.”
Entrance into engineering departments, fine arts schools, business schools and so on should be skewed in favor of minorities where the current enrollment is “unequal” (”un-diverse”). (Let’s say that all colleges and universities should graduate at least, oh, half the percentage of minorities in the general population — at least — not as a fixed number but as a sort of rule of thumb). The point being that further rulings may be necessary on the part of legislators, the courts, and school systems and businesses themselves, as to the “exactitude” of diversity.
Increased representation of minorities (but without “forgetting” the Caucasian population) in public schools, colleges and universities, graduate schools, and, yes, in businesses from ice-cream shops to mega-employers such as GMC, IBM, Xerox, and all across the board is the goal.
Eventually, claims my friend, thought processes driving Caucasians (and all races) will “catch up” to mandated diversity.
LOUIS DeTORO
Youngstown
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I think your friend had his brains rattled in some of those beatings.
Why on earth would or should a university or college deny qualified students entrance, and yet accept unqualified students? Why would an employer turn down an applicant who meets the needs of the job perfectly, in favor of one who does not? Affirmative Action is one of the things that has greatly damaged this nation over the past couple of decades.
You know the old saying, "You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."? It applies with school kids, too - of ALL races, colors, religions, and so on.
If the student would rather goof off than learn, that student is going to fall behind. Probably the greatest reason for lackadaisical student performance is the lack of a home life that's conducive to learning. That's not my fault. Put the blame where it belongs.
If the poor student WANTS to go to college, he or she should understand that it takes work - work to bring oneself up to the standards the college uses for acceptance. If a college requires a 3.5 gpa for acceptance, for example, their courses and classes are constructed around the presumption that the students enrolled there have the knowledge and ability needed to maintain a 3.5 gpa or above. If you introduce a student into that environment when the student has a much lower gpa, and has shown little or no effort in bettering his or her academics, it's not reasonable to expect that poor student to be able to keep up with the rest of the class. And the rest of the class, who HAVE met the acceptance criteria, should not be penalized by having to wait on the poor student to grasp concepts they understood years ago.
And if someone is not qualified to do a certain job - does not have the technical ability to do it, nor the academic background to understand it - why should the entire company be slowed down by this one person? Deadlines will be missed, profits will be lost, and the other workers will have to pick up this unqualified worker's slack.
We don't need MORE Affirmative Action programs, we need LESS. Accept people into higher education and hire them for jobs based upon their merits, not upon their skin color.
Discrimination is discrimination.
Everytime I read anything about affirmative action, I have to wonder why anyone of any color feels they are entitled to a handout. MLK Jr. wanted his children to be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. How does this help people of color? Work hard, strive to be more and you will become more! I think it is more degrading to be given something just based on race.... affirmative action is basically saying, we know you can't do it on your own.... so here we'll just give it to you. That to me would be an insult!
“Eventually, claims my friend, thought processes driving Caucasians (and all races) will “catch up” to mandated diversity.”
“Cecil and my Caucasian friend were taken to the cloak room by their African-American teacher, “Mrs. A” for short, and they were beaten with the wooden end of a broom, brutally, on the buttocks, the shoulders, and the backs.”
“Mrs. A” was a black separatist”
Now who in this little fantasy tale of an urban myth needs to learn diversity?
Creating a sophomoric bit of sophistry to camouflage identity and true personal feelings simply muddles any hope at interpreting the true message of this author.
Yeah, just like the last sentence says.
I find this to be so wrong on so many levels. First off i think that the best people no matter what color their skin should be accepted, hired or what ever. Every person in America has the same opportunity. The out come depends how each person decides to react to it. I think we do not owe anyone anything except for Navitve Americans. We came onto their land and look it way. As for African Americans it was their own people who traded them into slavery. So why do we owe them anything. Do you ever stop and think your race may have never come to America if it wasn't for the trianglular trade? America was build on people have the freedom to choose. So why should a business or school have to have stipulations on who to admit or hire. Did you ever stop and think how unfair this is to the same qualified caucasian? They are the ones who have go through the progess of getting rejected cause of the color of there skin. Two wrong don't make a right. Everyone should be look at the same. There should be no checking to identify your race!
Mimi, again, you don't know what you're talking about.
You can quote the same bit of "I Have A Dream" that any second grader can, so what? What do you know of King's work? In that same speech, he also said that he had come to Washington to "cash a check." What do you think he meant by that?
Moving beyond "I Have A Dream," and I'm sure I'll lose you here, King actually believed that the greatest threat to genuine freedom for African American people were the "white moderates" who had grown too comfortable in their privileged lifestyles to truly join in the fight for justice. You are certainly entitled to that "bootstraps" philosophy of yours, but you might avoid misrepresenting King's beliefs to support it.
Now you'll want to know whether I'm white or black, right? This way, you can fit me into one of your city v. suburbs, white v. black, conservative v. liberal simple little dichotomies.
George, read more of my posts..... I DO NOT care what color a person is! I use the line from MLK's speech in my everyday life..... I chose my friends based on that line. I have taught my children to select people by their character, not their color. That portion of his speech has always stuck in my mind. I love that line. I really didn't know that this would be so damn offensive to you, but again, I'm only as educated as a second-grader! My point is that I would never want to be given somthing that I didn't earn and nobody else should want that either. And George, I really would appreciate if you are going to comment back to me that you at least try to hide you complete disdain for me.... even though you don't know me. Why is every response from you an insult? Just try pointing out your side to me.... I'm trying very hard to hear your side although you aren't making it easy.
Sorry George, I didn't answer your question, "In that same speech, he also said that he had come to Washington to "cash a check." What do you think he meant by that?" I interpret it as meaning black people want the same things as white people. He believed that they were as entitled to the same opportunites as white people. It was their right. In that part of his speech he was referring to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I don't disagree with him, everyone deserves equal treatment, emphasis on EQUAL. I'm sure you will point out my less than educated view, I'll be holding my breath waiting for your next round of insults.
Mimi, You want me to educate you, huh? Okay, a good starting place with Dr. King is "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" in which he states undeniably and in several different ways that African Americans were due. This is what he meant by "cash a check." Dr. King was not seeking a "negative peace"...merely the absence of violence. He was seeking justice, and he also said that sometimes this quest for justice included law-breaking measures.
It is offensive to quote someone as visionary as Dr. King out of context and use his words to support a point of view that he would have likely opposed.
Dr. King, in fact, would have supported the views of Louis DeToro, who wrote the above letter calling for mandated diversity. Dr. King often said that what oppressors won't give willingly, the oppressed must demand (I'm paraphrasing, I don't have "Letter..." in front of me).
By the way, I admire how you worked my recent use of the word "disdain" into your own lexicon. I guess you are learning something from our exchanges. LOL.
It's real convenient to say that everyone should be judged based entirely on their individual success when you've had has access to better schools, neighborhoods, college prep materials, and general environment that encourages academic success. Life is not survival of the fittest; it's survival of the best prepared.
It's also sad state of affairs when we tell 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds that it's entirely on their shoulders to succeed, that high school is their one shot at a better life, and that if the screw it up, well, too bad. The vast, vast majority of people who succeed have help -- help studying, help from family, financial help, encouragement, support, etc, and I'm sure, plaenty of second and third chances. But to tell those who don't have that kind of a support network and grow up in an environment that doesn't value success and education that they have one shot, and one shot only, is nothing less than condemning them to a life of failure before they've even really begun.
Affirmative action and other such programs recognized that not everyone has the chance to develop the same "merit" and that sometimes there is a greater purpose than allowing only the "strongest" in. Affirmative action is also rarely questioned when it's the children of alumni and donors who are admitted to prestigious universities at higher rates that other, equally-qualified students, or when job applications ask if a family member or other acquaintance already works for the company. Athletes are admitted to schools based on what they can bring to the football field as opposed to the classroom, and that's perfectly okay. And yet, we can't recognize the inherent advantage of having diverse classrooms and offices just because there might be a sliver of preference?
Diversity initiatives in education and the workplace were designed with the idea that diversity is its own reward and that places benefit greatly from the presence, contributions, and perspective of non-white people. And yes, if people aren't willing to recognize that, then sadly, it has to be mandated.
"It's also sad state of affairs when we tell 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds that it's entirely on their shoulders to succeed"
Why not? My parents got it into my head EDUCATION is very inportant. And now at YSU they have a program for students who may not attend college at the end of high school. They start it their freshman year, and end up with a two year degree. Anyone can get into this program who would not be able to attand college. Hey i struggled with school. I had to study my butt off to get the grades I got. I was lucky enough to be athletic which really helped me develop. Those kids without support can have all they need from teachers and other students. All they need to do is ask. These kids have the ability to raise above and get out of that life style but choose not to. It much easier to have the poor mes and blame everyone else for the problems they have had, have, or will have down the road.
I just think that it is not right that a person can be passed up for a job or college, just to except someone else due to the color of their skin.
George and City, I understand your points of view, I just happen to not agree. City, I grew up dirt poor, the child of a working single parent. There wasn't time in her life to help me study nor was there money to pay for my college education. I studied alone. I worked from the day I turned 15, enlisted in the military at 19 and paid for my college degree by myself. So my views on the subject do not come from a place of privelege. And let me add that I graduated from high school in 1989 and did not have my degree until 1997. So it was a hard, hard work that took nearly a decade to achieve, but I did it. If I did it, so can others. George, once again, you are trying to be condencending and it greatly detracts from what you may be trying to get across. I knew the word "disdain" long before you came into my life. Back to the "I Have a Dream" speech... he clearly states, that he wants people of color to have the SAME as white people, nothing more nothing less. I have yet to read anything that says he wanted special treatment, just equal treatment. His "cashing a check" comment comes after speaking about the Emancipation Proclamation, he believed that black people were still not free(to paraphrase). He was coming to Washington to get that promise, of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as promised by the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. He certainly didn't say anything about getting anything more than anybody else. I like how you keep trying to make something bad out of the fact that I use one line as a way to educate my children and live my life as to the people thay should seek out in life. By your reasoning, their character and qualifications are for naught, only the color of their skin should matter. He was visionary, I wished he had been around much longer than he was. It would have been nice to see what else he may have accomplished. Sorry, George, we just don't agree. Thanks for your time, it has been a pleasure.
City, That was a meal! Thank you for such a thoughtful and informative post.
City is right, diversity initiatives derive from a need for them, not out of a sense of entitlement or white guilt. However, sometimes the ineffectiveness of our initiatives calls into question their value...that's the source, I believe, of anti-initiative arguments. That and just plain old-fashioned racism. I'm not referring to anyone in particular here. We live in a racist culture; people sometimes end up with racist beliefs whether they want them or not.
Mimi, Of course it's wonderful to raise your children not to judge others based on race. Cribbing a line from King isn't enough, but it's a start. All due respect, you are off base in your interpretation of "I Have a Dream." It's not a matter of opinion and disagreeing; you're simplifying the message. There is a context for that speech, and it's rooted in all of Dr. King's work. To assume that I believe only race matters is seriously flawed logic. It's neither what I wrote nor what I meant. I'm guessing you also assume I'm black? I'm not. I'm not even a man. LOL. You know far less about me than you think you do, huh? I meant the "disdain" comment as a joke. Sorry the humor didn't come across. You seem like a nice person who is truly trying to contribute to the conversation, although I have to say, you're a little sensitive.
The city of Youngstown is 45% black with 39.6% of it's people living below the poverty level. The school system is in Academic Watch with a score of "1" on the OBE state ratings. The mayor is black, half of city council is black, and 3 of 7 school board members are black. That's pretty diversified to me. How will this diversity fix these issues? Again I challenge anyone for answers.
George, I didn't think you were black or white, your views didn't strike as me as either race.... I just do not see people that way. I definetely cannot begin to know who you truly are based on our dialogue here. I believe given face to face time with each other you and I would probably have more in common than not. Again, I have enjoyed hearing your point of view and interpretation.... I am not nearly as versed in the entirety of MLK's beliefs as you are. I have simplified that particular line to try to be fair in my dealings with all people. I guess at this point I do not get where you stand on this issue, if you believe in AA, do you believe it has flaws? Or is it cut and dry.... this is the only way to ensure people of color are allowed to prosper?
Good questions, Mimi. I do believe in diversity initiatives, and I do believe that some are currently flawed. I'm not speaking about affirmative action so much as I am about other programs with which I am more familiar. Programs that allow students to attend college for free can be problematic if the students aren't otherwise prepared for interacting in a professional environment. Youngstown Early College is an example. It's a great idea, but because some of the students in the program don't know how to conduct themselves in the college classroom, sometimes these students are disruptive or uncooperative. Then the reputation and effectiveness of the entire program suffers.
No, I don't think these kinds of diversity initiatives are the only way, but they are a way. City made the point that many of these young people lack the skills to pick themselves up and take themselves out of poverty. Add that these students might not know anyone personally who has successfully completed college (or even high school) from whom they can seek guidance. It's a cycle. Diversity initiatives can help break the cycle; their current level of effectiveness, however, is debatable and has been debated. I'd still rather err on the side of facilitating change than on the side of impeding it.
And when you have some spare time, think about looking at "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." I'm not exaggerating when I say it changed my world view.
Youngstown is making progress. It's improved from academic emergency to academic watch, green space is replacing dilpaidated buildings, parks and public service are being improved, and initiatives like Youngstown Early College are giving some disadvantaged students the added help they need. Progress doesn't happen overnight.
Let me also clarify that I'm not against encouraging and fostering more personal responsibility. Certainly there is a need to make people appreciate how much they can be the masters of their own destinies. On the other hand, don't we also want to make life easier for our children than it was for us? Don't we want them to struggle less than we did? So why are we so resistent to the idea of making it a bit easier for other people's children?
And george412, thanks for the support!
George.... read it, need a couple more read throughs to completely digest it. I'm also going to call my baby brother, he is the philosopher in the family. He is at Brock University getting his PhD in philosophy and religious studies, so he's the person that will explain some of the people quoted in the letter. I'm minimally familiar with names from listening to my brothers views over this long educational journey of his. Truth be told, I'm the only one that can follow him for any length of time,LOL. Myself and my brothers pursued degrees in the medical field, we need cold hard facts, again, LOL. I'll get back to you... it is a great letter.
OK, I'm going to keep trying to make people see... Please read: (from http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc...) Start at:
"Daily effects of WHITE PRIVILEGE"
Here's how it starts:
"I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell, my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions.
1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed."
...
"48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.
49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.
50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social."
...
"It seems to me that obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all. Keeping most people unaware that freedom of confident action is there for just a small number of people props up those in power and serves to keep power in the hands of the same groups that have most of it already."
...
OhioPerson... read your article, as well. Agree with most points generically.
Peggy McIntosh's article is pretty much a staple in every college class on race and gender.
White America still refuses to acknowledge that they benefit from persistent attitudes that privilege them over people of other races. It's not about guilt, it's not about repayment, it's not abut affirmative action. It's about acknowledgment.
Yep, Palin & Obama really prove the advantage thing. It sounds more like the rewards for getting a good education, working hard, being flexible and willing to learn than anything race or gender based.
Regardless of race or gender, if you refuse to get an education, decline to work hard and pay your dues you too will be the antithesis of the so called male white privilege.
I have a daughter who is an engineer and is living very comfortably. I have a good friend in Pittsburg who is not an anglo who is an engineer and lives very comfortably. Common denominators, education, hard work, flexibility and a willingness to learn.
I have family members who live in abject poverty because they declined to finish high school, always took the easy way out and believed that hard work only was of value for their employer, not themselves.
It is not un-earned privilege, it is earned rewards for your accomplishments. Believing it is an unearned privilege is simply a salve to cover the wounds of personal failure.
"Yep, Palin & Obama really prove the advantage thing."
Um, yes they do. We've had one black candidate and two female candidates in 232 years. Not exactly impressive numbers. Or do you actually think that in the past two centuries, they are the ONLY non-white-male candidates who've earned that spot -- that every other female and minority politician just didn't work hard enough? Oh please, even the KKK would admit there's more at play.
Obama is there from all his hard work. He grew up with his mom raising him. Some people would have considered him poor. He didn't give up saying I'm poor and bi-racial. No, he fought hard, worked, when to an awesome college, got his degree and put it to unbelievable use. He is an awesome example to the youth. Anything IS possible and don't let anyone tell you differently!
Hey City, I'm glad you're still here fighting the good fight, and I will add to your point. The two women candidates we've seen in more than 200 years have been vice presidential rather than presidential candidates. Barack Obama is the only non-white male to ever be this close to the U.S. presidency. One non-white male in 232 years, but it must be about hard work and not about systemic and institutionalized racism and sexism. Seriously, does any person of intelligence really believe that?
Mimi, glad to see you're reading and thinking!
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