The affirmative action ruling has exposed Democrats’ failure on education
Opinion by Derek Hunter, Opinion Contributor, The Hill, 7/5/23
There’s a reason the Biden administration, congressional Democrats and so many of the media leftwing talking class were so upset about the decision in the affirmative action case against Harvard and the University of North Carolina. They’re even more upset that the Supreme Court decision is popular, with one poll showing 52 percent supporting it and only 32 percent opposed.
This has to do with their attempt to re-frame the very concept of “diversity” as something that cannot survive a merit-based college admissions system.
There is a not-so-subtle racist assumption in there — that Black students will fail if made to compete on an even playing field. But beyond that, the real question is why people might adopt such an assumption in the first place.
That’s the question Democrats don’t want asked, because they know the answer could cost them their next primary election.
The question people should be asking in places like my home town of Detroit and my adopted city of Baltimore is why such a large racial achievement gap exists in schools. Yes, liberals claim that it’s just systemic racism. But think about it for a minute. Just who are they saying is the racist? Who is causing the racism in the system?
Is it the unionized teachers in those cities? Is it the principals? The parents? The mayors, who have been all Democrats in both of those cities since the 1960s? Is it the nearly all-Democratic city council’s members? Is it something in the water?
This is where the circular reasoning that blames everything on systemic racism falls apart.