EDUCATION
Why Black Americans Still Get the Blame After Affirmative Action
It's easier to cast blame than to understand the process
Imagine being blamed for something you had no control over like the rain falling out of the sky. That's what it feels like when Black Americans catch the blame for other groups' misfortunes despite having the least social capital to make systemic changes. For instance, Jon Wang, an 18-year-old Asian American student with exceptional grades and standardized test scores, had his heart set on attending the college of his choice. When they rejected his application, he blamed Black students, none of whom were actually standing in his way.
According to Wang and the White conservatives who gleefully rode his argument's coattails, too many Black students were accepted into colleges and universities with the help of race-based affirmative action policies. As a plaintiff in a suit filed against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, Wang, who couldn't fathom why his grades weren't enough to gain his acceptance, targeted Black students, who ironically remain underrepresented on the elite college campuses and universities he sought to attend. Whether knowingly or not, Wang's complaint had a snowball effect and became the justification for ending policies designed to…
