Cheap White Whine
But what about us? It’s a question of which white folks never seem to tire when discussing subjects like affirmative action, or other diversity initiatives intended to expand opportunity and access for people of color in higher education and the job market.
Whenever these matters are raised, the vast majority of us rush to protest: How dare schools or employers consider race in admissions or hiring. They should be colorblind, we insist, merely admitting or hiring the most qualified!
And more to the point, we proclaim, targeting folks of color for opportunities means discrimination against us, making us the victims of horrific reverse racism.
So, yes, it remains the case that even when black folks have college degrees they’re nearly twice as likely as comparable whites to be out of work; and Latinos with degrees are about 50 percent more likely than comparable whites to be out of work.
And yes, even whites who claim to have criminal records are more likely to be hired than equally qualified blacks without records, but still, can anti-white lynchings be far behind?
And yes, blacks and Latinos combined only represent about 13 percent of students at the most selective colleges and…
