Full Circle on Race

The dis-oriented author comes from a mixed race background. I am both Asian as this blog title suggests and Black as Barack. I have lived in cultures where I was part of the racial majority and others where I was part of a racial minority. Therefore I have been very keenly aware of racial politics in America throughout my adult life.

This week the Supreme Court ruled in two similar cases on racial preferences in K-12 educaiton: Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Bd. of Education. In these cases the court ruled that race may not be used as a factor in assigning children to K-12 schools.

The court votes against discrimination on the basis of race and the Democrats are up in arms! It is a great day to be an Republican.

It is interesting to see the history of some of the Supreme Courts rulings on race.

In 1954 the court decided the landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education. In Brown, the court ruled that states could not provide separate schools for blacks and whites. After Brown we became accustomed to hearing, separate but equal is not equal. Brown was a victory for civil rights.

In the summer of 1978  the Supreme Court rule in landmark race case: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Bakke decreed that race could be one factor among many in considering college admissions but it was largely a victory because it also declared that racial quotas by themselves were unconstitutional. It was Bakke that added the phrase reverse discrimination to the language. Bakke was mostly a victory for civil rights.

In 2003 the Supreme Court decided Grutter v. Bollingeret al. Like Bakke, Grutter was an admissions case at the University of Michigan. Unlike Bakke, Grutter was a defeat because the decision unambiguously declared:

The Court endorses Justice Powell's view that student body diversity is a compelling state interest that can justify using race in university admissions.

Grutter was a defeat for civil rights.

The most recent ruling is definitely a victory for civil rights. How is it that those who fought for so long to be equal — not separate now want to be treated separately but not equally? It was interesting to hear all the Democrat candidates blasting the ruling.

What is wrong with color blind equality.