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In reply to the discussion: Asian groups allege Harvard discriminates against them in admissions [View all]JustinL
(722 posts)41. actually, Martin Luther King supported affirmative action
From Why We Can't Wait (1964):
Among the many vital jobs to be done, the nation must not only radically readjust its attitude toward the Negro in the compelling present, but must incorporate in its planning some compensatory consideration for the handicaps he had inherited from the past. It is impossible to create a formula for the future which does not take into account that our society has been doing something special against the Negro for hundreds of years. How then can he be absorbed into the mainstream of American life if we do not do something special for him now, in order to balance the equation and equip him to compete on a just and equal basis?
Whenever the issue of compensatory or preferential treatment for the Negro is raised, some of our friends recoil in horror. The Negro should be granted equality, they agree; but he should ask nothing more. On the surface, this appears reasonable, but it is not realistic. For it is obvious that if a man is entered at the starting line in a race three hundred years after another man, the first would have to perform some impossible feat in order to catch up with his fellow runner.
Whenever the issue of compensatory or preferential treatment for the Negro is raised, some of our friends recoil in horror. The Negro should be granted equality, they agree; but he should ask nothing more. On the surface, this appears reasonable, but it is not realistic. For it is obvious that if a man is entered at the starting line in a race three hundred years after another man, the first would have to perform some impossible feat in order to catch up with his fellow runner.
From Where Do We Go From Here? (1967):
The white liberal must affirm that absolute justice for the Negro simply means, in the Aristotelian sense, that the Negro must have "his due." There is nothing abstract about this. It is as concrete as having a good job, a good education, a decent house and a share of power. It is, however, important to understanding that giving a man his due may often involve giving him special treatment. I am aware of the fact that this has been a troublesome concept for many liberals, since it conflicts with their traditional ideal of equal opportunity and equal treatment of people according to their individual merits. But this is a day which demands new thinking and the re-evaluation of old concepts. A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him, in order to equip him to compete on a just and equal basis.
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Asian groups allege Harvard discriminates against them in admissions [View all]
madville
May 2015
OP
They don't have to, they could just admit the most able students. N.T.
Donald Ian Rankin
May 2015
#8
They think that is achieved by a formula of test scores and GPA. Most universities don't.
pnwmom
May 2015
#14
Maybe it's time they review the criteria they're using if it's giving them such lopsided results?
Chathamization
May 2015
#6
DU would be outraged and politicians would be queueing up to denounce the college.
Nye Bevan
May 2015
#21
wouldn't the right approach be to not ask gender/race/sexual orientation etc. on applications?
DeadEyeDyck
May 2015
#9
Yes, but when you account for that percentage also applying at other schools too
FLPanhandle
May 2015
#27
Or maybe no federal money going to schools with selective admissions. That'd take care of
Chathamization
May 2015
#30
Scores and Grades are not the only basis on judging who is a worthy student
alphafemale
May 2015
#26