This past Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Secretary of State Colin Powell publicly criticized President Bush’s stand on affirmative action. In a rare show of dissent, Powell took the correct stand on a volatile issue.
Powell himself is a product of affirmative action and often proudly reminds people so. He understands there is still a serious racial chasm in America. Until the playing field is level, efforts must be made to ensure minorities have an equal opportunity to succeed.
Critics of affirmative action argue that it puts people who are under-qualified into positions they did not earn. This is far from true. Affirmative action merely opens the door to success for minorities.
Colin Powell was not handed his bachelor’s from the City College of New York, nor was he handed his MBA from George Washington University. He did not rise to his position as a military leader and politician by way of government handouts. He worked tirelessly to achieve his status. Affirmative action only gave him the opportunity to do so.
Imagine a world where a devoted public servant like Colin Powell wasn’t able to be involved in the government. He has broken ranks with his party on this issue because he is a beneficiary of affirmative action and knows it can work. Affirmative action made possible his rise to leadership and his status as one of the most respected politicians — black or white — in America.
Bush benefited from another kind of affirmative action. His status as the son of a wealthy alumnus allowed him to get into Yale with mediocre grades — affirmative action for rich white boys.
President Bush is wrong in criticizing affirmative action. If he had to get through life based on nothing but his academic merits, and if there were a neutral admissions policy, he would probably be living in an apartment above his parents’ garage.
Minorities are not yet where they should be — the playing field is not level. As Powell said in 1996, “There are those who say that all you need is to climb up on your bootstraps, but there are too many Americans who don’t have boots, much less bootstraps.”
The Lantern applauds Powell for opposing the Republican Party on this issue. He has sent a clear message to the president that race is still an important issue in America.
