I’ve written about Affirmative Action in the past and now they’ve done it. I write this statement in a state of fury and disappointment that the Supreme Court and the Republican Party in Congress are so threatened and intimidated by an America that includes many Americans different from themselves, that they are going to extremes to take the nation back 100 years.
I have tried to walk in the shoes of Affirmative Action and DEI (which has been added to this social onslaught) opponents attempting to understand what motivates their attacks. Sadly, I am, unable to come up with real reasons for their objections except that they do not think African Americans and other People of Color are entitled to the equality promised by the nation; they resent the need to “share” in the prosperity and are even unwilling to expand the pie so that more of us can benefit from opportunity. They want America for themselves, truly believe that America is their nation (taken from Native Americans and built by African slaves); and believe that only they and their children and families should prosper, irrespective of the ability or the merit, they insist everyone else demonstrate to get ahead.
I remember the days when race, was truly a discriminatory barrier to college admission. Women and People of Color, like me, were denied the chance to attend elite and other colleges simply because we were Black or Brown. Where was their outcry then? There was none. So, for me, this is wholly personal. I am personally offended and angry that there are citizens in the country that are going to allow this dismantling to continue. I am infuriated by it, but it continues and is getting more aggressive, mean-spirited and destructive.
White Allies of Civil Rights need to step up. Speak with their spouses, grandparents, and parents, some of whom are leading the charge and/or standing by silently. Black and Brown communities will do our part as we have needed to for over 400 years. We will not go down quietly; you will continue to hear from us; we will use our voices and our vote to fight for our rights and the rights of others. Black and Brown people do not want to do to them what they have done to us, which I believe is a real fear.
We just want to be included in the equality Americans should be entitled to. It must be very frustrating to our opponents that we are still here; still fighting, and have incrementally moved the nation forward even in the face of their hatred and attacks. And you know what? Our numbers are growing.