Affirmative Action

Through its beautiful and sometimes horrifying past, the United States of America has risen to become a global superpower. America’s status, however, cannot deny the pain early colonists caused to the indigenous and African American peoples. Yet while the U.S. as a community has moved forth, remnants of the past can still be seen in demographics today. Early white families gained and retained vast sums of wealth from cotton farms and other such businesses, while Black and Latino families have been fighting poverty and stereotypes for generations. Even though opportunities can no longer be withheld from people of color, they can be withheld from the poor. 

Over many years, education in America has become revered and honored. Elevated to a new position, degrees and diplomas pave the way to bigger and brighter futures. Simple enough right? Not quite. While being accepted into college is a challenge of its own, affording tuition creates a massive roadblock for many, often putting a full stop to one’s higher education, especially those who come from lower-paid families. Stanford, a widely recognized university for its advancements in medicine and technology, costs nearly 82,000 dollars to attend. To put into perspective, the average yearly income of a black family is around 17,000 dollars, before taking into account the costs of food, water, and electricity. 

To balance out the massive margin, President J.F.K introduced affirmative action in 1961 with one purpose in mind: to help undo past injustice and discrimination. For sixty years, affirmative action has helped colleges greatly increase diversity within their student body, creating major spikes in Black and Latino applicants. Yet many still argue that it has helped very little in Black and White wealth, illiteracy, and health gaps. Moreover, the Supreme Court’s recent decision to rescind affirmative action has unfortunately prevented researchers from further observing the effects of affirmative action on society. However, the Supreme Court cannot be laid to blame, as their argument consisted of many well-written facts. Chief Justice John Roberts clarified that race should not serve as a qualification, but rather a facet of one’s life to either pose a challenge or be welcomed and cherished: “Nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant's life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university.” While the Supreme Court acknowledges important arguments, it is still essential to comprehend the roots of one’s background. Equity is not providing everyone the same resources, but rather providing people with different levels of resources to put everyone in the same end position.