Affirmative Action is the Antichrist

I know a 21 year old African American college student who hasn't so much as looked up Affirmative Action in Wikipedia, and yet he professes that AA is the downfall of black progress.

We've had heated conversations in which I and a few of my colleagues called ourselves schooling this guy, and dousing him in African American history 101 to 500.

Yet he's firm in his beliefs: Affirmative Action is the Antichrist.

When I patiently explained to him basic American power structures and how historically they could not be cracked by people of color or women, he remarked. "Why can't you just marry into some super rich guys family, then you'll be part of the power structure, right?"

After that jolt of misguided logic, I told him not to talk to me about affirmative action ever again until he's read some books.

Now, I could dismiss the conversation as the rantings of the ignorant, except for one tiny problem.

He wants to go to law school.

And thanks to affirmative action's reigning problem child, Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas, who's now working the media circus with book in tow, I can no longer discount the twisted conservative logic of a misguided black college kid with law school dreams.

He might become a Supreme Court Justice and dedicate his life to chipping away my rights.

And he might read Mr. Thomas' book.

So I've decided to tell him about a University of Michigan study that states that college students who come in through affirmative action get consistently higher grades than legacy kids (those who came in on their parents merit). In fact, they were typically very good students who lead healthy academic lives.

It's the empirical data the world's been waiting on, to prove that Affirmative Action is not some hand out. It creates opportunity for good students.

Hopefully, this study will mean something to him.

And if it doesn't, God help us all.