The price to truly make this nation colorblind both in word and deed will not be cheap or painless
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed to the world that his dream for America was that a man be judged by the contents of his character not the color of his skin, in deed, during his life time, he and other empowered so-called civil rights leaders both black and white, strongly advocated the use of race to advance blacks and other minorities. The historical fact is that in may ways, this Constitutional wrongheaded approach failed. Many statistics regarding the socio-economic status of blacks in America and other minorities are horrific on its face - powerful evidence of a failed public policy.
A case now before the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court will deal specifically with the issue of using race to place students will also establish or remove as a matter of policy, the factor of using race and the actions being protected by law. The true legal question that shall be and must be answered is, must a community or specifically, all public institutions be diverse? I say hell no. It will be nice if they are diverse, its ok for them to be diverse but, these institutions should not be required to be diverse. However, there should be significant legal consequences, both civil and criminal, for institutions or individuals that engage in discriminatory practices. An institutions diversity does not in and of itself ensure parity in the quality of services offered, parity in performance or opportunities.
By now I know that some of my readers are thinking that I have lost it. Well, before you get stuck on that thought process, hear me out. Dr. King and others had good intentions. There is a saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. What the good Doctor and others put into play unintentionally, was a formal public policy of "White Community Standards" and "Black Community Standards".
Many will argue and rightfully so, that was not the intentions of so-called affirmative action programs but, the facts conclude without question this was the only way this type of public policy could work or achieve any type of significant results. This affirmative action process was being driven by statistical facts not the empirical effects of the results of the implemented public policy. The complexity of the policy was that the policy attempted to effect a group solution at the expense of non-protected group members of other races and cultures. Even worse, the success of some in the protected group, specifically blacks, absolutely did not translate into community and social success for the overall majority of the protected group. Today, in American, over 50 percent of all black children are living in relative poverty. In every social status in America, there is no status where blacks as a race have achieved parity with whites in American.
We are now in a global economy. The issue of a Black America and a White America is a mote issue. For America to continue to thrive and prosper as a nation, America's people of all races and walks of life must become one thing, Americans. The disparities that exist today between the races in America can only be resolved by one community standard and with laws that apply equally to all. If we the people, our elected and appointed public officials, our business and civil leaders insist, that in practice, everyone is afforded equal protection under the law, facing the hashes legal penalties possible for non-compliance, then and only then can Americans boast of a colorblind society. The U.S. Supreme Court has the power to put us on that path.
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