Race v. Class & Obama’s Daughters

The argument of who deserves Affirmative Action and who doesn’t is raised again in Eugene Robinson’s column on Illinois Senator Barack Obama. He’s asking the question: “Should Obama’s daughters benefit from AA when they apply to college?’ Eugene Robinson – A Question Of Race Vs. Class – washingtonpost.com. In my opinion, absolutely not.

I’ve been clear on my belief that although racism still exist (you’d have to be dead not to believe it) and is a poison in our society, it doesn’t have anywhere near the effect that classism has on minorities. I’ve also always believed that quotas are no good. I do understand and support the critical mass formula that many schools use, allowing diversity to play a role in admissions, but not just by the numbers. I think the two University of Michigan cases a couple of years ago had it right. However, I’ve always believed that if you’re going to have an AA program, it should be based on economic status and not race. In the end, it will mostly benefit students of color anyway.

I say this because I grew up in Chicago with a lot of kids who could be said to be like Obama’s children. They were very rich, privileged black kids with parents who were Ivy-league degreed business owners, high-level corporate executives, doctors, lawyers, politicians and came from families with several generations of blacks who have achieved the American dream and then some. Living in mansions and Mcmansions, they had as stable a home life as anyone can expect with 2-parents, many of them with stay-at-home Moms for a short time. These are homes where strong values and a belief in education and honest work are reinforced daily. They went to private schools, had tutors, took SAT prep classes and were exposed to an incredible amount of world culture through travel and experience, all before the age of 18.

These are not the kids AA was created to help. The only way one could believe that AA is meant for them is if you believe that simply being black means you need a lower bar and that’s nothing but an insult. At some point, because these kids may have been called a name by their white classmates or pulled over for DWB (driving while black) once or twice, that somehow has more of an influence on their ability to learn and achieve than a life of privilege, support and encouragement that most kids of any race don’t get. Do you buy that?

So I answer no. Obama’s daughters don’t deserve the advantage of Affirmative Action because it wasn’t meant for them and Obama himself has said that he doesn’t think anyone should cut his daughters any slack. That being said, they don’t need it because through their parents they’ll have legacy rights to schools like Columbia & Harvard and connections that can get them into any school they want. But people don’t seem to care much about legacy. Being the cynic that I am, I think that might change as more and more kids of color are able to take advantage of it, but only time will tell.