On June 30th, Councilmember-At-Large Laurie-Anne Sayles sent an email to her constituents in Montgomery County expressing her “heavy heart, burdened by the recent Supreme Court ruling to strike down affirmative action”. After reading her letter, I became confused … did I miss something in what she had to say? Because what she said seemed to align perfectly with the decision of the high court.
In the Councilmember’s own words … “Affirmative action has long been a crucial tool in our collective pursuit of social justice and equality. Its purpose is to rectify historical injustices and ENSURE THAT EVERYONE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR BACKGROUND, HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO THRIVE.” Let’s repeat that: ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, has an equal opportunity to thrive.
What the Councilmember conveniently leaves out is why this issue was brought before the US Supreme Court. It is important to know why this case was brought before the Supremes because the impetus for this was a direct result of the actions taken by some residents of Montgomery County.
It was not so long ago that a number of our fellow citizens took their case to the gates of Harvard University.
You see, they were part of our diverse community – the Asian-American community and they were being discriminated against by an admission system that was driven not by merit but by the color of a person’s skin. The problem was Asian students who worked hard, got the grades, scored the highest on the college entrance exams and wanted the American Dream just like their black and brown friends. The Asian students also wanted attendance at the most prestigious schools in the nation – Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, MIT … the list goes on … and they were denied the opportunity because the admissions system favored lower scoring students to fill affirmative action quotas.
If our Councilmember really believed what she told us, i.e. that “everyone, regardless of their background, has an equal opportunity to thrive”, then she would stand proudly for this decision. She would not feel disheartened that her constituents, the people she represents in Montgomery County will now have an equal opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Councilmember Sayles goes on to say that “By striking down affirmative action, we risk undoing the strides we have made in building a more inclusive society”. I wonder if she was thinking about the “Blacks Only” graduation ceremony at Harvard as noted by Charlie Kirk: Harvard will host its first ever “black only” graduation ceremony, this is racist and a disgrace to all racial progress made over the last 60 yrs. MLK would be disgusted at this …
Or the headlines that announced: Western Washington University's fourth floor of Alma Clark Glass Hall has now been reserved specifically for its 'Black Affinity Housing Program' … Joins American University, Stanford University, University of Colorado at Boulder and Cornell University in creating black student-only housing … 'Segregated housing! Separate but equal. Welcome back to the 50's!' tweeted one person in response to the news – could this be the undoing of the strides we have made in building a more inclusive society?
I grew up in the segregated South and I have seen the progress that this country has made to right the wrongs of our past. I would venture to say that I have lived in a society that truly discriminated against our black citizens. But time has moved on and so has society. If that were not the case, I am sure that Councilmember Sayles would not be Councilmember-At-Large in one of the biggest counties in the Nation. Her own achievements would be diminished if not completely wiped out … because she is a woman of color.
But that is not how it is in 2023. And her message to her constituents that they cannot succeed without the help and assistance of a government mandate that skin color is more important than merit … reflects the bigotry of low expectations and does a tremendous disservice to those who look up to her and her success on the Council.
So let’s close this with the very same words used by the Councilmember … “We must come together as a society to champion equality, justice and fairness.” This is exactly what the Supreme Court returned us to with their decision. So, I say … Take heart, Councilmember Sayles – things could be a lot worse as we have seen in past history. Today’s Supreme Court decision calls an end to discrimination in education against Asian-Americans … equality, justice and fairness - for all!
Once again I agree 100% with your assessment of what the meaning behind the Supreme Courts decision. We have for to long been a divided society by an action that was suppose to make society equal, but was destroyed by so many panderers like the counselor and others for their own financial or personal gain. Thank you.