Race. Is the most incendiary topic in our history. And the moment it comes out, you cannot close the lid on that box. That may change. But not for a long long while.
-David Mamet, Race
As I type these words, the fate of affirmative action in institutions of higher learning in the United States hangs in a tenuous balance. With the Supreme Court considering the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case, a vote that involves a majority of conservative justices with a history of disliking affirmative action (liberal judge Elena Kagan recused herself from the case), a policy with a well-established role in United States collegiate education could be thrown out the window.
Some might see this as a sign of racial progress. American Millennials ages 18-25 appear to think the United States has made drastic strides since the Civil Rights movement of the sixties; when asked how race or gender would impact their career prospects, 63 percent thought it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever. This number holds relatively firm across most racial groups, though black Millennials are slightly less optimistic (54 percent say race and gender will have no difference). Still, the fact that a majority holds such an optimistic view is still striking, especially since black and Hispanic Millennials support affirmative action by significant majorities (75 and 63 percent, respectively). What is the source of this tension? Denying any potential discrimination in the workplace doesn’t comport with also believing in a policy whose stated purpose is to circumvent discrimination.
Though the
Millennial Values Fellows and I couldn’t formulate with precision. Plenty of theories and suggestions were thrown out, the most popular being the recognition of the trend toward supporting socioeconomic affirmative action instead of the race-based affirmative action that currently exists. There was a diversity of opinion on this issue amongst myself and the other fellows, and the discourse we had on this topic was invaluable.
With that in mind, what I think is most prudent when observing the at-times contradictory findings in the Millennial Values Survey is keeping an open mind. For a person of any racial or ethnic background to say that race or gender will make no difference at all in future career prospects is a very serious statement, one that must be made with care for America’s troubled racial history. Whether or not race-based affirmative action is necessary or not is, of course, up for debate, but one fact cannot be dismissed: racism hasn’t stopped being a problem in these United States. Upon electing its first black president, many Americans demanded proof he was born in America. Even with the prestige of the highest office in the United States, Obama was not free from racially charged accusations. The scars of our racist, segregationist past have not faded by any means. If the President of the United States isn’t immune to racist criticisms propagated by the mainstream media, then Millennials looking for even an everyday job should stop for pause.
The David Mamet quote at the top of this post is an accurate, albeit simplistic, statement that shows why I couldn’t possibly begin to “solve” race-related issues in America. For now, all I can suggest to do is what I did at the Millennial Values Symposium: talk to people. Listen. Deliberately seek out those with different backgrounds than yours. Broad, sweeping generalizations about what will or won’t work to repair broken race relations in the US will do few people any good. America has made strides in opening shut doors; now it just needs to create a space.
