The Democrats Can't Let Go of Racial Preferences

"Racial preferences in college admissions have long been deeply unpopular, and three years ago, the Supreme Court declared them unlawful, in a sweeping ruling that portended doom for other race-conscious policies to promote diversity or remedy past discrimination. Some research indicates that, in the aftermath of the civil-rights era, the achievement gap between rich and poor students now dwarfs the gap between white and Black students. Even so, well-intentioned blue-state Democrats keep pushing for race-based affirmative action, to their own political detriment, rather than supporting a much fairer policy of providing a leg up to economically disadvantaged people of all races."

"In February, the California State Assembly passed, by a 54-14 vote, a measure seeking to place on the November ballot a change in the state constitution to allow racial preferences in K-12 education and in higher-education scholarships. (The state Senate has not yet acted on the measure.) In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a 375-page Racial Equity Plan last month that said, "New York's history has been one of colonization, exploitation and racial oppression"; among other measures, the plan reaffirms the city's intent to steer contracts to minority-owned businesses."

"In huge swaths of the country, the Democratic brand has become anathema. The party will struggle to recapture the White House and reclaim the Senate unless it can persuade some red-state voters to take a fresh look at it. One obvious move would be for the Democrats, who have hemorrhaged working-class voters, to abandon their stubborn support for politically radioactive racial preferences. Significantly more Americans believe that economically disadvantaged people of any race deserve special consideration in admissions and empl"

Race-based preferences in college admissions have been ruled unlawful, with concerns that other race-conscious diversity or remedy policies may also be affected. Research is cited suggesting the achievement gap between rich and poor students is now larger than the gap between white and Black students. Despite this, Democrats are described as continuing to push race-based affirmative action, which is said to harm their political standing. Examples include California moving to allow racial preferences in K-12 education and higher-education scholarships, New York City proposing a racial equity plan that includes steering contracts to minority-owned businesses, and Maryland overriding a veto to study reparations. The argument concludes that Democrats should shift toward policies that provide advantages to economically disadvantaged people of all races to improve electoral prospects.

Read at The Atlantic