We end our look at white history, with my hot take on Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action has come and gone over the years. It was introduced in 1965, by Executive Order 11246, which created the Equal Employment Opportunity system.
Discrimination, otherwise known as white supremacy, was still the law of the land in 1965, so this system was put in place to create quotas to make it more fair for people besides white men to be employed. The fact that we needed this system at all, should be humiliating to us. It is not the shining triumph we like to claim it to be. We didn't learn to be better. We had to be forced into it, just like any other advances made in this country. white people were largely unwilling, or they would have just done it.
The fact that AA has been attacked over the years and detracted from by white people claiming it's an overreach or no longer necessary, is also a horrifying example that white supremacy is still the law of the land, in our hearts, if not the laws themselves.
As soon as Affirmative Action is adjusted or dismantled because white people claim it's not necessary, we immediately see the exact opposite come to light. If you need further proof of that, look up Washington State's ban on AA, brought to us by none other, than Tim Eyman himself. Seriously, that's all you need to know...
Affirmative Action is only "racist" against people who already benefit from the system set up as it is. It shouldn't exist, because employment opportunities should be fair to begin with. If the system was equitable for all, we wouldn't need it.
Dismantling white supremacy is the only way to make it fair for everybody. If I have learned anything from this project, though, most of us white people will not come to see this. Most of us will have to be dragged into it kicking and screaming, with the Supreme Court and government forcing it through laws and executive orders. We will look back on those as triumphs of fairness we all wanted all along anyway. We will cover up the hate and anger and fear and pretend we were one of the good ones all along.
This concludes my white history month project. In light of what's happening in many states trying to ban CRT in teaching history, I wanted to focus on historical figures and events that we have usually looked at one way, and really see the overlooked issues. white people don't want to be made uncomfortable. Our comfort is of highest priority in this country. These posts, no doubt, made white readers feel uncomfortable at times, or maybe the entire time. That's a good thing. It means you know we have had advantages and rigged the system in our favor. You know it was wrong. It's ok to feel bad about our past. It should spur us on to fight harder now to dismantle white supremacy. We should work to make our future history something we can truly be proud of. Something we won't have to hide. Are you up for it?
More info about Affirmative Action:
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