The law school I attend is inarguably diverse. Students range in age and experience from 22 and straight out of college to 67 and collecting Social Security; the student body is split almost 50-50 between the sexes; one student rolls from class to class in a wheelchair, while another is guided by a cane; students and professors come from every region of the nation, and several are from Canada, Romania, or Africa; a number of students are married and many have children; there are learning-disabled students; I've spoken to conservatives, liberals, libertarians, socialists, followers of the Green Party, and even anarchists, though why an anarchist is in law school merits another discussion entirely. Apparently not convinced, though, the American Bar Association deferred its accreditation decision until the school could prove its diversity.
Evidently, the ABA is not interested in diversity so much as diversity. We had to enroll more blacks, stat. Never mind that as a brand new law school, the admissions officers were naturally accepting the most highly-qualified students who applied, and anyway the race and ethnicity portion of any application is optional and cannot by law be considered in admissions decisions. Never mind all the diversity I just highlighted. The ABA demanded that the administration outline in detail its efforts to recruit and enroll African-Americans.
A ”diversity committee” was established and chaired by - surprise! - a black professor. An annual “diversity week” was inaugurated, and almost every single event during that week was decidedly black-oriented; I, a Jew, was not invited to incorporate Judaism into the diversity activities, nor to my knowledge were the Indian, Asian, European, or Hispanic students.
Additionally, the school is involved in a community outreach program to attract black high school students to law school after college. The way these black students are approached at these outreach events is alarming. Seriously, some are all but offered admission on the spot.
Now, I'm not some white-supremacist. The only white sheets I own are on my bed. I would think it is a sin if someone were denied an opportunity for a legal education merely because they were black. By the same token, though, I recognize that it is equally as unjust for someone to be admitted to law school merely because they are black. Such a travesty is racism through-and-through, and not just because of its ostensible preference for blacks. Affirmative action-type policies are racist against blacks. They presume that African-Americans are not good enough to rise to the top on their own.
I think that a black person's law school application can shine just as brightly as anyone else's, and because I believe in a meritocracy, I hope that future lawyers are chosen by the vibrancy of their experiences, credentials, and potential, and not because there is more melanin in their skin.
