This memo from the Nettleton Middle School divides student offices by race.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
(There are new reports that two of the four school administrators are black and they are saying it was a misguided attempt at affirmative action.) I’m not buying it. Limiting the blacks to a handful of seats and determining the race by the race of the student’s mother are not the elements of affirmative action. And, in particular, the fact (at least according to the news) that some administrators are black has no effect in my mind on whether or not it’s discrimination. Someday, people are going to have to wake up and decide that blacks have actual individuals in their midst who have their own points of view, do bad things, do good things, believe wonderful things, believe moronic things and just generally do that human being thing. That a black person says something about other blacks does not make it okay. That a (fill in the blank) says or does something that involves the (fill in the blank) race does not make it okay. Got it?
James Pilant
Pilant's Business Ethics Blog 
Except it WAS Affirmative Action, Affirmative Action as it was always implemented as opposed to how it was preached to the people. A quota structure combined with a race-based sliding scale of qualifications was the only way that they could show positive results.
Yeah, it was stupid – even more stupid to leave on the books unquestioned for 30 years. Yeah, it was and is racist; Affirmative Action as it was implemented was racist throughout. Why should this example be any different?
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Not ever being allowed to become president, or anything else, because of my skin color? That is not a glass ceiling. It something much more vile.
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I agree with Jonolan. I can buy the affirmative action defense. The problem is that affirmative action in practice is just as racist as outright racism. To judge a person on any criteria other than merit is shameful and the “administrators” should know that.
Judging by the picture you posted, it looks like the school is vast majority white and that if left to the middle school students, they would elect their friends who will probably have the same skin color as them. People naturally segregate themselves. Its unfortunate and reprehensible, but those administrators are demonstrating how affirmative action in this country actually worked. That doesn’t make it any less racist though.
Its not racist if the student population elects all whites to these class positions. Its not racist if the student population elects all blacks to these class positions. It IS racist to rig it so that the students must vote based on race and not merit.
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Okay, look, I know what an affirmative action program looks like. It says things like “of seven posts, three must be held by minorities.” Here, the top spots are guaranteed to whites under all circumstance and a majority of the posts are guaranteed to whites under all circumstances. You will never ever find this in an affirmative action program of any sort. Further, the use of the mother’s race as the determinate is old jim crow. I hadn’t heard of it in years. I really didn’t think I’d see it again. The rule now is like on the census. You tell me what your race it. They didn’t do it that way. Further, look at who complained. It wasn’t the whites who became concerned. It was the minorities who were being categorized by the mother’s race. It was the minorities who didn’t want to be black or white but what they were. No, gentlemen, this is racism. It bears little relationship to affirmative action unless it be “white” affirmative action, a recognition of permanent white predominance.
jp
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I might give you the top spots bit, but the demographics at the schools are such that Blacks are actually guaranteed to be overrepresented in student government under this program.
As for who complained – true, it wasn’t the Whites and it wasn’t the Blacks. It’s was a different minority group that complained. But then race has always been primarily a Black and White issue in America.
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