On Affirmative Action

Spent a lot of time writing an affirmative update for our activist newsletter today, tracking all of the dramatic ups and downs in Colorado and Nebraska this week - lawsuits, signature fraud, shady data...it all had me contemplating the amount of time, energy and resources that affirmative action opponents put into their opposition, yet cling to their adamant profession that affirmative action is responsible for every successful African American outside of sports and entertainment. Condoleeza Rice? Affirmative action. Oprah Winfrey? Affirmative Action. Colin Powell? Affirmative action. Barack Obama - you know the drill. It made me wonder: If they eliminate affirmative action, who/what are they going to blame for black achievement?

I ran across a relevant post today by my boy Ta'Nehisi over at the Atlantic that argues why Obama's rise to the top canNOT be explained away by affirmative action:

"Electoral politics are about showing and proving--no amount of
Affirmative Action can get you to the presidency. You have to
compete and win. If you're the sort of voter who shows up at one
of these dead-end rallies, who likely believes that Obama never
deserved the hype he got, that he was only a big deal because he
was the "black guy," then, yeah, you are liable to be stunned when
he Buster Douglasses that ass. When you're on the canvas searching
for you mouthpiece wondering, How the f***, did I lose to a nigger..."

Well said.