Please explain your view on affirmative action.
Should it help those who have been disadvantaged in life, regardless of skin color, or should it be based on skin color?
For example, let's say that two individuals with the same grade point average and test scores are applying to the same law school. One, Jane Doe Gumball, is the daughter of millionaire Bryant Gumball and has been raised without a financial care in the world. Dad paid for her college. The other, Jane Doe Smith, is the white daughter of a waitress. She had to work her own way through college as her mother could offer little financial help on her salary.
The Law School Admissions Committee chooses Jane Doe Gumball because she is Black in the name of Affirmative Action.
Question: Did the Admissions Committee do the right thing?
The question is more complicated however, although you bring up a great point. Even if all affirmative action programs were based on a socio-economically disadvantaged status (currently, some are, some aren't), there are still challenges faced by poor blacks that are not faced by poor whites. There are still private organizations that bar African-Americans. There are still pockets of hatred; no one has ever made fun of my Irish heritage, but I've yet to meet any person with dark skin who has not dealt with many racial epithets. And the numbers are clear; blacks make less on average than whites (especially black males) and are underrepresented in corporate boardrooms.
Once these ratios are more balanced, however, I would be in favor of affirmative action based solely on socioeconomic status as opposed to race.