Here are some interesting affirmative action statistics reported last week in Inside HIgher Ed. They are from a recent study published in the American Journal of Education:
About 13% of Blacks aged 18 or 19 in the United States are first- or second-generation immigrants. But at the selective colleges studied, 27% of Black students are. And at Ivy League schools, the number is 41%. The largest numbers of Black immigrants at selective colleges come from the Caribbean, followed by Africa, and Latin America.
The article also mentions a statement a few year back by Lani Guinier--Clinton's ill-fated nominee for the position of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Guinier, a Harvard law professor who was dubbed Clinton's "Quota Queen" in the media, was a strong proponent of race-based admissions policies (and lots of other race-based policies). She complained to a Harvard Black alumni reunion in 2003 that most minority students at elite colleges were “voluntary immigrants,” not descended from slaves. “If you look around Harvard College today, how many young people will you find who grew up in urban environments and went to public high schools and public junior high schools?” she said. “I don’t think, in the name of affirmative action, we should be admitting people because they look like us, but then they don’t identify with us."
The statement was particularly peculiar because Guinier herself is the daughter of a Jamaican immigrant father.
"they don’t identify with us." Gosh, why might that be?
Posted by: dearieme | February 09, 2007 at 12:23 PM
A great and humorous example of reverse discrimination and racial retaliation happened recently when the Northwestern Law SBA President was forced to step down for not including the Latino Student's Association President on a list of recommended invitees for a breakfast with C.J. Roberts. http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/02/06/breakfast-of-controversy/
Posted by: USD Law Student | February 12, 2007 at 02:10 AM