MSNBC Host: Without Affirmative Action in Colleges, the ‘Entire Leadership of America Would Become Entirely White’

During Tuesday’s edition of MSNBC’s “The Cycle,” co-host Touré made the argument that without affirmative action in colleges, “the entire leadership of America would become entirely white.”

This, he explained, is barely a “whitewashing of what we already have” in America today.

“The Cycle” hosted Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor Jr., the authors of “Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It’s Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won’t Admit It.” {snip}

“You suggest that it’s better for these black and brown students to go to second tier schools rather than to go to Harvard or Yale, the first tier schools. The entire Supreme Court comes from Harvard or Yale. Almost all presidents, Harvard or Yale — all the top of corporate America,” Touré said.

“So, if we follow your prescription then the entire leadership of America would become entirely white, which is just a barely whitewashing of what we already have,” he added.

Sander, a UCLA law professor, said the problem with Touré’s argument is “the fallacy of whether leaders come from top schools because they went to the top schools or because the top schools were good at admitting the strongest people.”

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He added that “Mismatch” doesn’t advocate for eliminating “racial preferences” but rather to “curtail them in a couple of ways” and provide transparency about the issue.

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