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6/24/2004
Immigrant Blacks More Successful than African Americans
 (Preface: Am I on some black stuff today or what? I think it's a coincidence, but every bit of news that's struck my fancy today just so happens to explore some hot topics. Also, I had to hotlink the New York Times photo from the article to your right for this post because this Marques J. Redd character, a recent Harvard Graduate is not exactly hard on the eyes...whew!)
A New York Times article published today explores the growing discrepancies among black college students born in America versus those whose families were immigrants. According to the article, 8% (around 530) of Harvard's undergraduate student population is black. I should have been included in that number but that's alright, I'm not bitter...anymore (for more clarity read my bio). At a recent Harvard black alumni reunion, the issue of the type of black student being accepted to Harvard and other top universities was raised. It seems now there is a growing concern among many affirmative-action proponents that the wrong students are reaping the benefits. Statistically, only 1/3 of those black students are what Harvard African American studies professor and author Henry Louis Gates, Jr. would call, "disadvantaged by the legacy of Jim Crow laws, segregation and decades of racism, poverty and inferior schools, who were intended as principal beneficiaries of affirmative action in university admissions." Before I get all fidgety, let me just say, I renounce the notion that every single black undergraduate student at Harvard University is there by the help of affirmative-action. Gates' statement implies this and it just ain't so. This is only one of the many issues about which Gates and I differ.
Being that I attended what's called a "little-ivy" (a reference to a smaller version of nine or so "Ivy League" New England colleges) I can vouch for the fact that the majority of blacks there are West Indian, Jamaican, Bahamian, and so on. They are also extremely intelligent. Frighteningly so. My Americanized butt had to work twice as hard to keep up with those over-achievers. I lived in a dorm with many and the upside to my college experience is that I can probably understand patois (Jamaican dialect) better now than the average person.
There's a call out for honest discourse on why second and third generation American black students are being accepted to top schools at higher rates. It doesn't really take a rocket scientist to figure this out, but as usual, somebody's going to make a dissertation out of this. The two Harvard buffs at the helm of this ship are Henry Gates and Lani Guinier (a law professor I used to idolize). The ultimate concern here is that "African Americans" being left out of top universities will not gain entry into the country's "inner circles of power, wealth and influence".
Okay. Time for real talk. First of all, stop whining. Let's not relegate success in this country to gaining "access" because if you're smart and innovative enough, you can create your own inner circles of power, wealth and influence. The Vietnamese have. Secondly, attending a top university is not necessarily in direct correlation to power and success. Even statistics show us that. Thirdly, it's time to get the mirror out folks. Looks like afirmative action didn't go as planned. All bets on the table, I'd say it never will.
We play a huge part in perpetuating the victim mentality that has "kept black kids down" so to speak. Yes, things are systemic and institutionalized, but I can't think of a better defense for overcoming odds than to look at the drive of the immigrant population who can attend the same horrible schools and succeed.
The article does bring some balance by discussing schools' failure to accept enough lower-class white students as well. Read it, draw your own conclusions. I'm of the persuasion that people of all races could learn a thing or two from the work ethic of those from other countries.
(Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)
posted by ambra at 6/24/2004 03:16:37 PM | link to this entry |
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