Nikole Hannah-Jones on DOJ's Attack on Affirmative Action & How School Segregation Never Ended

democracynow.org - The New York Times is reporting the Justice Department is preparing to investigate universities’ affirmative action policies for anti-white bias, in what critics say is the latest assault against civil rights by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The Times says the Justice Department sent out an internal announcement looking for lawyers to lead "investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions." The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action policies, which take race and ethnicity into account in college admissions in efforts to address centuries of institutionalized discrimination against people of color and women. We speak with Nikole Hannah-Jones, an award-winning reporter covering racial injustice at The New York Times Magazine.
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[@TMHighisTrulyGreat]

I’m proud of you Nikole Hanna Jones. Thank you for all that you do and for your great contribution to the uprising of our people.

[@n8mless135]

The art of the deal: accuse people of very same thing that you are doing.

[@tradewinds2319]

Democrats' collusion with foreign entities, you mean?

[@n8mless135]

Jeff Brinning that's one

[@Anonymous-yw1cv]

Exactly, Democrat/liberals are racist and sexist as fuck, so they accuse everyone else of that.

[@Anonymous-yw1cv]

Trump is giving people their rights back, true equality of opportunity, NOT of outcome.

[@kekwayblaze3176]

You are full of shit.. Typical Trump supporter living in an alternate reality.... Now that Mueller is looking into the finances of not only Trump but his own family and convening a grand jury it's only a matter of time now until Mueller announces criminal charges against Trump and his family...

[@NellieKAdaba]

Interesting. I never experienced this. I am not for affirmation (type of discrimination), I am for merit, talent, skills, competence, expertise, etc.

[@Roottech25]

why do we have boxes in all application asking your race (latino, white, black, indian, asian) if the only objective is to select the best candidate and outcome is color blind eg: grades in school. why the box? If I'm the boss and I'm taking application for a position at work, I want to be able to talk to the best candidates regardless of race. For school application, they also take into account your personality development eg: how well you get along with others. I also think that's not fair, if you're an immigrant from other culture may be your culture is more accepting of loneliness than belonging into a social group.

[@MrDXRamirez]

I would not be so quick to side with the NY Times on this issue of racism. Take race out of the equation than the class system is bare naked in your face. Easier to organize a movement against class than against race in America. Put fairness into the equation and the class system is harder to see as the prime force of oppression. If you want a universal emancipation from a class system to take place then race is an obstacle to that end. Just look at Venezuela, racism imbibes the opposition movement there against darker brothers and sisters trying to break the class system in that county. As Marx said, "Black labor cannot be free as long as white labor is branded." Republicans might be doing a revolutionary movement a favor. Your thoughts, if you have any?

[@Amy-zb6ph]

I'm a white woman and I know I got turned down to schools because they wanted me to write an essay bragging about myself and I'm just not good at writing those kinds of essays. Ask me about the science I studied and I'll write a great essay but, if you want to know about me, either meet me yourself or ask someone who has met me. I don't hold anything against people who got into school because of affirmative action. Their lives are hard enough already.

[@tirusew]

Affirmitive Action should just stop now. We minoroties need to improve our k-12. Let us take responsibility for failing to address this.

[@derricaamerica9092]

People shouldn't turn down people for school

[@californication751]

Well said, Nikole. We are watching hegelian dialectic at work: their attack of affirmative action (despite it benefiting white women most), in conjunction with their trying hard to bring up Black people as supposedly benefiting from the immigration bill, _and_ Trump talking about how the competition is rising for "low wage jobs" shows they're actively working to reshuffle the upper racial hierarchy/caste levels, and simplify it back down to the pre-1860s situation, with Black people being systematically targeted and geared toward those low wage jobs now needing filling, and pushing them back down to the agricultural/janitorial/manual labor or grunt-work jobs. Much like mass incarceration, it ends up being pre-engineered slavery under another name, with their creating the problem (decreasing numbers of Black people going to college and lowering funding for grade school) and pretending as if they're solving it (opening those low wage jobs up, so they can be filled by those who were unable to go to college). Alas, we see what they meant by "MAGA." Not only "Make America Gentrified Again," but "Make America Gim Crow Again" (aka trumpster spelling) - back to the time when only white people were allowed to have a hand up from the government, and good riddance to everyone else. What is particularly interesting is the clip with Abigail Fisher, as it's a testament for how this mindset has permeated the younger generations as well, being passed down by those who, of course, were pro-Jim Crow not long ago, to begin with, etc. Funny how she thinks "nothing separated them save for the color of their skin," as if the application package isn't something of many moving pieces - she must apparently assume that their goal statements and entrance essays all said the same thing, as well as their recommendation letters, and their sat/act scores, or what their intended majors are vs their grades in those particular subjects. She, as expected, has no time for nuance, details or specifics. Odd, though, how she's not considered to be playing the race card by her like-minded, fellow skinfolk. I hope people, in general, stop grouping "people of color" together, though, as Hispanics and Asians, indeed, have vastly differing experiences from Black people, and both of which are well known for their own racism, particularly here in America as well as/if not in their originating countries.

[@barbiejw2012]

What are you afraid of here? It's real and fair is fair! Stop the threats!

[@bonitaroache73]

Affirmative Action, the same as the 1964 Civil Rights Act (since they could be interrelated) was passed and put in place with very good intentions, I don't think anyone is doubtful about that. However, the result and the reality of it all has been a double-edged sword for all involved and those it was supposed to benefit. It, in some respects, not only violated the Constitution and reduced individual Liberty; it also failed to achieve its stated goals of promoting Racial harmony and a color-blind Free Society. Federal Bureaucrats and Judges cannot read the Citizenry's minds to see if certain actions are motivated by racism. Therefore, the only way the American Government could ensure Employers weren't violating this, was to ensure that the Racial composition of a Business’s workforce or Educational institution matched the Racial composition of a Bureaucrat or Judge’s defined body of potential employees or students. Thus, Bureaucrats began forcing Employers or Schools to hire or accept by a Racial Quota which is objectionable. Racial Quotas haven't contributed to Racial harmony or advanced the goal of a color-blind Society. Instead, these Quotas encouraged Racial balkanization, Racial Bias, and fostered Racial and Political strife. Of course, America has tried to make great strides in Race Relations over the past 40 years but not enough. However, this progress is due to changes in Public attitudes and Private efforts.

[@rustyjohnson5018]

Sessions, on looks alone, is a unlikely super villain. Yet, he is a real life petty monster and how.

[@mothersmurfer9211]

is this some o that jappernese poetry?

[@MidnightRambler]

Rusty Johnson how? Enforcing equality? Enforcing immigration laws? Grow up

[@johnmastroligulano7401]

Affirmative action is divide & rule machinations by the oligarchy. It doesn't effect the people who are already wealthy or connected to the corrupt while attacking people who refuse to sell out you see the same thing in employment if you have integrity being promoted/getting a proper education is almost impossible that is what "affirmative" action was put in place to do not to help marginalized people which should have been giving everyone a platform with which to excel by that I mean a basic income & living standards so people don't have to start out in poverty which prevents people having the time & adds an amazing amount of stress/mental-physical abuse to peoples lives to repress people, people who have already been suffering for generations. Affirmative action isn't what it claims to be it is the exact opposite of the wording itself as it was applied & this was always the intent of those in power to use as a vice against people with morality-integrity, those unwilling to discriminate/attack their fellow man/woman. Applications should never have had any personal identifying information because that is used by insiders to choose personally who they want to have a chance to excel but as I've said the system is set up by insiders, by the elite, by an oligarchy to mitigate people with morality/integrity being given a real chance in life.

[@Zak_Meents]

"Pro-POOblica."

[@MrBreeze66]

So ho did this age? No problem at all.

[@fresnobob2886]

You will see that a lot of schools who carry sports teams, will take the lower graded students to fill the athlete slots.

[@PandemoniumVice]

5:30 She's absolutely right though. Regardless of whether or not she was discriminated against.(Which it seems highly unlikely that she actually was.) Your Race and Gender shouldn't be on any college application. You should be accepted purely on academic merit, not some quota system. This should go for job applications as well. You should be hired on a completely blind basis, only your work record and academic qualifications should matter.

[@aws21st]

1965 Immigration act open the door to forgieners , who want to benefit from the civil rights humans rights of African Americans who was here since year 1619 or earlier and was huge part of building this country with no fair human compensation and fought in every war .

[@derricaamerica9092]

All this land to use help them achieve life as our specie's should . explain to them about stuff fix what's wrong an understand only have so many people cuz of space .

[@moviedude22]

Anti-white ? HAHAHA

[@PandemoniumVice]

Sorry, but things have changed drastically since President Johnson was in office. It isn't the mid-60's anymore. Blacks have been provided every helping hand possible at every opportunity. You can get into any college in the country solely on the grounds that you are black. There are endless grants, programs, and scholarships based entirely on race. They've had enough help at this point, and it is far past time that they be allowed to compete freely with the rest of the country. There are no longer any laws, anywhere, under which they are not equal in the United States. In many cases, blacks are privileged over any other race simply based on the color of their skin. Affirmative Action, today, creates nothing but dependency on the state, and animosity between the races because it privileges one over another. This is not how you achieve equality.

[@fbaallied]

"You can get into any college in the country solely on the grounds that you are black" *NO* you damn well can't! "There are endless grants, programs, and scholarships based entirely on race." There non but what about all the whites that get in on the basis that their parents privilege !!! "In many cases, blacks are privileged over any other race simply based on the color of their skin" *WHERE* !!!

[@joepublic4069]

Cherry Boy why are you looking for a place to goo school.

[@PandemoniumVice]

1. Race quotas in colleges provide higher priority for the minority groups. Scholarships, accessible only to those of a specific race. 2. Not all. I don't for one. I'm the descendant of share croppers and Cherokee. Neither my parents, grandparents, nor great grandparents had any sort of privilege to speak of, and today I have no more privilege than any black person. 3. Everywhere that practices Affirmative Action. If you are given a job over someone more qualified based solely on the color of your skin, you are privileged.

[@fbaallied]

1. White women are the *BIGGEST* beneficiaries of AA, *NOT* black people, blacks are actually *UNDERREPRESENTED* in college admissions 2. AA applies to *ALL* minorities, *NOT* just blacks, so that includes *ANY* of the various First Nation tribes, some whites with a percentage of native blood can claimed AA, like Elizabeth Warren. 3.Blacks aren't more privileged, that's nonsense, every socio-economic measure shows this!

[@PandemoniumVice]

To address your points in order. 1. I don't approve of its use for white women either. No one should be benefiting from any program that puts race or gender above personal merit or accomplishment. 2. I understand that. However, it does not apply to people of Native American descent, no matter how much of it you have, if you are not an *active* member of a tribe. I've actually encountered that caveat before, unless things have changed in the past 15 years. 3. It sounds like you're addressing point 2? "I'm no more privileged than..." Is what I said. Not, "Blacks are more privileged." You don't always have to have one above another. What I am saying is that I'm on equal footing with the average black person in America. That is the socioeconomic standing into which I was born. There are those worse off than I, and those that were born into a far more privileged position. This applies to all races in modern day America. There are billionaires of all stripes, as well as the homeless and starving.