Some people just do not like seeing Black and brown people succeed. It is as plain as that. Right-wing activist Edward Blum’s anti-affirmative-action group The American Alliance for Equal Rights has sued two prominent law firms for, apparently, trying too hard to help minority students.
Another ridiculously named group founded by Blum, Students for Fair Admissions, won a major victory earlier this year when the Supreme Court of the United States sided with them and against college diversity policies in admissions. Not content to stop there, the new lawsuits accuse firms Perkins Coie in Dallas, TX, and Morrison & Foerster in Miami, FL of discrimination by limiting which students could apply for their paid fellowships.
It seems Blum still believes there’s some war against mediocre white people. In a statement, he said: “Excluding students from these esteemed fellowships because they are the wrong race is unfair, polarizing and illegal.” His claims of reverse racism are ridiculous but it makes sense that he would continue to lead these legal challenges since he’s on a reprehensible winning streak at the moment.
A spokesperson for one of the law firms, Perkins Coie, made it known that they would not be backing down. They confirmed the firm would remain “steadfast” in promoting diversity in the legal profession. At the heart of the lawsuit are paid fellowships which I thought we all agreed were a good thing! Unpaid internships are valuable (pre) work opportunities, but ones that are primarily available to students and recent graduates who can afford to go without pay, meaning they really only serve to further sideline already marginalized prospective workers.
The fellowships at Perkins Coie have stipends of $15,000 to $25,000, as well as summer associate positions. These can all lead to full-time work for fellows after they have completed their stints. The applicants must be a part of “a group historically underrepresented in the legal profession, including students of color, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities.” I can see Blum reading it now, red-faced, irate. Even if you feel slighted personally, can someone really argue that these groups haven’t been historically underrepresented in the legal profession?
The United States is built on centuries of discrimination, much of which has been de jure (codified into law) but the “racism is over” crowd would like us to believe all of that has been eliminated in the last few decades. (Thanks, Obama!)
The research doesn’t back that up, at all. People like Blum insist that there is no systemic discrimination standing in the way of BIPOC students. But doesn’t that mean he would have to believe the extreme racial gaps in college admissions and employment are due to some sort of inherent superiority on the part of white students? Because the stats are the stats and the people who push these ideas should be made to answer; they cannot have it both ways. Our history of discrimination must remain a relevant factor moving forward.
These people are outraged by any attempt to level a grossly unjust playing field and they will not stop until every outlet we have for helping to advance the opportunities available to disadvantaged and minority groups is washed away.
(featured image: Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
