Getting to the Root of the Problem

I’ve decided that in order to achieve what Senator Obama referred to in his recent race speech- the perfection of our union- we need to stop providing superficial remedies to societal problems. I’ve begun to liken affirmative action to an anachronistic medical procedure that continues to be performed despite more advanced knowledge. It’s like treating the surface wounds and ignoring the underlying infection. Let me be clear- rhe need for affirmative action still exists. Unfortunately, race still has powerful effects on outcomes for individuals and shapes practices of institutions. The malady still exists, but the remedy needs some updating.

During its infancy, affirmative action was pruned by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and even Nixon. We all should know that quotas are illegal and affirmative action was never about promoting unqualified individuals. However, the rampant misunderstanding of affirmative action is all the more reason to re-examine it. When medical procedures become out-dated, you move onto the recent technological advance. Why shouldn’t we do the same with our policies?

Stanley Fish urged us to consider historical context when examining affirmative action. He likened racism and affirmative action to cancer and chemotherapy. Both cancer and chemotherapy disrupt the balance of a system; however, one is the cause of the disease and the other is the cure. I like this analogy, because it acknowledges that there is something that needs fixing in our society- racism. It also acknowledges that affirmative action was created to remedy the situation.

However, as I look at affirmative action as a remedy, it seems like a band-aid or surface response to an underlying infection. Why can’t we propose a remedy for the root of the problem? Well when I think about the historical context, I can start to understand why. In the 1960s we were on the heels of Brown v. Board, had barely begun to implement the ruling and were in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. We didn’t have time for a major surgery that would address the infection of racism that had seeped into every corner of American life! (One could also ask how we could not engage in the major overhaul so desperately need.) At first glance, I get that this proposal of affirmative action seemed like a reasonable response given the state of the union. Legally, we were making strides. However, one need only recall the experiences of the Little Rock Nine to illustrate how domestically and interpersonally we were far from doing the real work that was necessary.

So, here we are almost 50 years later. In many ways we have made great strides. However, problems persist and we continue to apply old remedies rather than innovate new techniques. In the medical field preventative care has been realized as a true money saver- exert effort to stave off diseases like diabetes and heart disease and save tons of money in the long run. Affirmative action provides the possibility for equality for underrepresented groups if they happen to beat the odds and are competitive for employment or higher education. What if we engaged in preventative approaches all along the pipeline- from birth through education? My hunch is that we would increase the number of individuals from underrepresented groups who are competitive, thereby increasing the likelihood that fields would be more representative of the racial make-up of society.

We need a policy that will address the inequality in the conditions and resources of our schools. We need a policy that will create equality of opportunity early in life. We need a policy that will ensure that students graduating from high schools in rural Appalachia, inner city St. Louis and the suburbs will be comparable in their knowledge base. We need a policy that will think about the pipeline rather than affect only those who are lucky enough to make it. Until we have those policies, we are merely tending to the surface of a wound that runs deep. For a while, that sort of treatment works. But after a while, the infection spreads and it gets pretty stinky. I think that’s where we are today with the arguments over reverse racism and colorblindness. We’re trying to claim that the problem is solved, and we no longer need the band-aid. We should push ourselves to consider more preventative treatments, before the situation gets further out of control. In the mean time, we will continue to need our superficial remedy affirmative action. Going back to Fish’s analogy- while we work to reduce the toxins in the environment to lower the rates of cancer, we’re still going to need the effectiveness that chemotherapy brings.