Affirmative 1

It sounds good, the word "affirm." So the term "affirmative action" should be entirely good and uncontroversial, right? 

Unfortunately the term is used in the U.S. for racial discrimination practiced by many college-level schools. Harvard University has used it for decades to favor black applicants over Asian and white applicants. But a decision of the Supreme Court may mean that will have to stop.

Back in 1896, SCOTUS (the Supreme Court of the United States) made a decision (Plessy v. Ferguson) that started the Jim Crow era of racial laws that favored white Americans. By today's standards, it was a truly wrong decision.

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Only one justice dissented from the Court's majority opinion. He was a former slave-owner from Kentucky who saw the injustice, saying "Our Constitution is color-blind." On that basis, laws which restrict the rights of black citizens are wrong, unlawful, unconstitutional.

Finally that bad decision was overturned. In 1954, SCOTUS decided (Brown v. Board of Education) to forbid racial favoritism in schools. Since then we've been trying for decades to enforce a non-race-based policy everywhere . . because it's unfair to favor a certain race.

from AEI

(cont'd tomorrow)