Class,but not race Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Class,but not race - Essay Example story of hardship, slavery, and Jim Crow laws within the South, legislators within the United States government sought to implement what came to be known as â€Å"Affirmative Action†. Effectively, this particular approach was one that sought to consider race as a determining factor and necessary requirements for organizations and firms, as well as educational institutions, when selecting an individual for a job position or in other organizational settings. Although this federally and legislatively mandated program has created a great deal of fairness within the system, many detractors point to the fact that it is inherently unfair due to the fact that it still continues to perpetuate a system in which an individual’s overall worth is predicated upon racial characteristics. Furthermore, individuals that are specifically against affirmative action have pointed to the fact that at its core, it is not much different than the racial interpretations of an individual’s worth that were perpetrated during the Jim Crow era of the Deep South; albeit somewhat in reverse. One of the authors that specifically finds the issue with affirmative action is Richard Kahlenberg. Kahlenberg’s viewpoint is that the practice of Affirmative Action has in fact been more unfair than it has been fair. The rationale behind this seemingly extreme statement is predicated upon the fact that affirmative action only considers racial characteristics with respect to making determinations within the public sphere. However, according to Kahlenberg, a more root cause of disparity that exists between blacks and whites is not predicated upon skin color alone; rather, Kahlenberg argues that it is predicated upon class. Said Kahlenberg, â€Å"Race-based affirmative action tells the most disadvantaged whites that you have very little in common with African Americans, because you have white skin privilege†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"If the goal is to unite people of all races, this policy is a disaster† (Judis 1).