Tag: Affirmative Action

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Understanding Affirmative Action: Part 2

With apologies for the lateness of this post, I’m taking up part 2 of my attempt to make some sense of the affirmative action debate and the recent spate of accusations (often, though not exclusively, by racial conservatives like Charles Murray), that the Ivies are using anti-Asian quotas.

My main concern about this argument over quotas is that conservatives have jumped on this bandwagon to attack race conscious school admissions and some Asian Americans are falling it. But, as I pointed out in my last post, there’s a long history of struggle over race conscious college admissions in the … Read more “Understanding Affirmative Action: Part 2”

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Understanding Affirmative Action: An Argument in Two Parts

The Fisher v. University of Texas case has put the debate over affirmative action front and center among discussions of racial justice…again. This debate has found its way into the spotlight repeatedly since the SCOTUS ruling on Bakke v. University of California made racial quotas illegal in 1978. I thought I’d reference that to remind us that racial quotas are, in fact, illegal.

There is much to say about the affirmative action debate. So much, in fact, that I’ve decided to respond in two parts. Part one is a discussion of some of the historical context for Affirmative Action. Part … Read more “Understanding Affirmative Action: An Argument in Two Parts”

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Why Affirmative Action Pisses Them Off

The Fisher v. University of Texas-Austin case against affirmative action in college admissions is a subject I’ve been turning over in my mind for a while. Folks who are arguing against affirmative action for people of color are attacking it as if it’s a program meant to address the impact of discrimination on people as individuals, and not as members of aggrieved communities. According to that logic, affirmative action, at least on a case by case basis, puts one form of discrimination over another, as if some people matter more.

Proponents argue that affirmative action exists to address barriers to … Read more “Why Affirmative Action Pisses Them Off”

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Asians are the Wedge

On Sunday before Memorial Day, I tuned in to MSNBC to watch Melissa Harris-Perry lead a discussion about Asian American voters. The show started out with some promise. But as it progressed, I found myself descending into a rant. By the end, I was full-on pissed. For all of the good intentions, one subtle but unbroken thread ran through the discussion – Asian Americans are the model minority.

In response to the relative absence of Asian American stars in Democratic Party politics, panelist William Schneider said, “…they have not relied on politics to get ahead as many other disadvantaged groups … Read more “Asians are the Wedge”

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White Identity Politics

My recent post, Blackness is the Fulcrum struck a nerve. It landed me on Blacking It Up, a radio show hosted by L. Joy Williams and Elon James White as the Asian man who opposes anti-Black racism. It was a valiant but sad performance. To all of you I’m supposed to be representing, I apologize in advance for the two shows I’m on this week. If you follow @nakagawascot I’ll tweet you the pod casts.

I’ve been busy. But busy or not, I can’t help making trouble and I’m guessing this post will stir some up.

Here goes –… Read more “White Identity Politics”

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Why Firing John Derbyshire Serves Racism

If you’re a frequent traveler in the blogosphere, you’ve probably read about the National Review’s canning of John Derbyshire, a frequent opinion writer in that conservative rag. The firing was over an article describing the racist advice he gives his white children.

I won’t get into all the gory details as you can see Derbyshire’s rant for yourself, but the low-lights include warnings against going into Black neighborhoods, and claiming that the mean (as in medium) intelligence of Black people is much lower than for whites.

This one time I will go against my own advice and say it is … Read more “Why Firing John Derbyshire Serves Racism”