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In 1954, Supreme Court declared that school segregation is unconstitutional though the famous case “ Brown V. Board of Education ”. It is the beginning of the desegregation in American Public schools. However, the real situation of American blacks at that time was just like President Lyndon B. Johnson once elaborated: “ In far too many ways American Negroes have been another nation: deprived of freedom, crippled by hatred, the doors of opportunity closed to hope......” For that reason, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law Executive Order 11246 codifying affirmative action which was first mandated by President John .F Kennedy in 1961. Racial quotas is one way which affirmative action shows in American Public schools. And in the past 50 years, affirmative action do help those African American students in a certain degree, it gives them more chances to get higher education with majority people. TRPI( the Tomas River Policy Institute) just published a brief about Affirmative Action in U.S. Law schools. The brief opens by saying, “ there are roughly 80,000 Latino and African Americans attorneys and judges in the United States compared with about 6,200 in 1970. ” There are many excellent lawyers are African American in United States today and they live good life. If they were born before without political protection, their life must be totally different.
Nevertheless, the outcome of affirmation action is very disquieting. Not just the so-called reverse discrimination which mentioned by some opponents of affirmative action, but other more serious situation----"Affirmative action now institutionalize the worst aspects of separatism" Actually, the percentage of black children who now go to integrated public schools is at its lowest level since 1968. The words of “ American apartheid” have been used in reference to the disparity between white and black schools in America, Those who compare this inequality to apartheid frequently point to unequal funding for predominantly black schools. In Chicago, by the academic year 2002-2003, 87% of public-school enrollment was black or Hispanic; less than 10% of children in the schools were white. In Washington, D.C., 94% were black or Hispanic; less than 5% were white; In St. Louis, 82% of student population were black or Hispanic; in Philadelphia and Cleveland, 78%; in Los Angeles, 84%; in Detroit, 96%; in Baltimore, 89%. In New York City, nearly three quarters of the students were black or Hispanic.Meanwhile, in the schools, as a research of Harvard University pointed out that the black students have very little contact with white students in the school. For white students, although they have been willing by and large to talk themselves into accepting affirmative action as a temporary measure on the way to equality. Still this makes them uncomfortable because they do not really believe in the justice of Affirmative Action, they do not wish to deal with the facts. In their deep hearts, they do not think that black is beautiful any more than they think white is beautiful, and they do not think that a student who is not qualified is qualified. In daily life those white students like to act as what they think and feel, as a result, they do not associate or befriend with black students, or even discriminate them. The most part of all this is that the black students, most of whom avidly support affirmative action, hate its consequences. Allen Bloom elaborated the real thoughts of those black students in his work The Closing Of The American Mind ,he said:
“ A disposition composed of equal parts of shame and resentment has settled on many black students who are beneficiaries of preferential treatment. They do not like the notion that whites are in the position to do them favors. They believe that everyone doubts their merit, their capacity for equal achievement. Their successes become questionable in their eyes. ”
This kind of thoughts gives them a powerful incentive to avoid close associations with whites, who might be better than they are and who might be looking down on them.
From those facts, we can see the great barrier between black students and white students, and we can also preview affirmative action in American public schools or we can say quotas will be the source of a long-term deterioration of the relation between the races in American.
Affirmative action is a complement for the blacks with a history of past injustice and to achieve equality. However, affirmative action cause new unexpected and even worse the situation between races. It still cannot regard as a perfect way to deal with all the historical discrimination problems. Discrimination more consist in mentally, and it is easy to change a law but is hard to change a mind. And for me , the quotas or references in the school is not appropriated. In fact, it doubts the intelligence or ability of black students from the beginning. It is a discrimination in itself.
However, there is one thing we should admit: education is the only way which can fundamentally change the African American’s life. Since they are lost behind for a long time, and they still get a hard time to catch up with the whites. Only being good education can fix the stereotype to them.
Nevertheless, the outcome of affirmation action is very disquieting. Not just the so-called reverse discrimination which mentioned by some opponents of affirmative action, but other more serious situation----"Affirmative action now institutionalize the worst aspects of separatism" Actually, the percentage of black children who now go to integrated public schools is at its lowest level since 1968. The words of “ American apartheid” have been used in reference to the disparity between white and black schools in America, Those who compare this inequality to apartheid frequently point to unequal funding for predominantly black schools. In Chicago, by the academic year 2002-2003, 87% of public-school enrollment was black or Hispanic; less than 10% of children in the schools were white. In Washington, D.C., 94% were black or Hispanic; less than 5% were white; In St. Louis, 82% of student population were black or Hispanic; in Philadelphia and Cleveland, 78%; in Los Angeles, 84%; in Detroit, 96%; in Baltimore, 89%. In New York City, nearly three quarters of the students were black or Hispanic.Meanwhile, in the schools, as a research of Harvard University pointed out that the black students have very little contact with white students in the school. For white students, although they have been willing by and large to talk themselves into accepting affirmative action as a temporary measure on the way to equality. Still this makes them uncomfortable because they do not really believe in the justice of Affirmative Action, they do not wish to deal with the facts. In their deep hearts, they do not think that black is beautiful any more than they think white is beautiful, and they do not think that a student who is not qualified is qualified. In daily life those white students like to act as what they think and feel, as a result, they do not associate or befriend with black students, or even discriminate them. The most part of all this is that the black students, most of whom avidly support affirmative action, hate its consequences. Allen Bloom elaborated the real thoughts of those black students in his work The Closing Of The American Mind ,he said:
“ A disposition composed of equal parts of shame and resentment has settled on many black students who are beneficiaries of preferential treatment. They do not like the notion that whites are in the position to do them favors. They believe that everyone doubts their merit, their capacity for equal achievement. Their successes become questionable in their eyes. ”
This kind of thoughts gives them a powerful incentive to avoid close associations with whites, who might be better than they are and who might be looking down on them.
From those facts, we can see the great barrier between black students and white students, and we can also preview affirmative action in American public schools or we can say quotas will be the source of a long-term deterioration of the relation between the races in American.
Affirmative action is a complement for the blacks with a history of past injustice and to achieve equality. However, affirmative action cause new unexpected and even worse the situation between races. It still cannot regard as a perfect way to deal with all the historical discrimination problems. Discrimination more consist in mentally, and it is easy to change a law but is hard to change a mind. And for me , the quotas or references in the school is not appropriated. In fact, it doubts the intelligence or ability of black students from the beginning. It is a discrimination in itself.
However, there is one thing we should admit: education is the only way which can fundamentally change the African American’s life. Since they are lost behind for a long time, and they still get a hard time to catch up with the whites. Only being good education can fix the stereotype to them.
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