Is affirmative action racist against white people? A while back I brought up the wealth gap between races and someone suggested it was a result of single-parent households. So I did some research. Whether you feel one way or the other I strongly urge you to read this thread. 1/15

In case you aren’t familiar, affirmative action is an effort put in place to close the privilege and wealth gap between whites and people of color by giving them preferential treatment. A gap that was created by racism and we’re still fighting against today. Here’s how. 2/15

In the 1800s native land was distributed to white citizens in a rapidly growing America, laying the foundation of a country filled with exclusively white land owners as blacks were not eligible for citizenship. That was a right only for those the government deemed as white 3/15

After the Civil War General Sherman signed an order allocating land to enslaved black Americans — you may know of this as “40 acres and a mule.” What many don’t know is a year later the order was overturned and most of the property was returned to the original white owners. 4/15

Remember 1929 when the stock market crashed? Roosevelt’s New Deal played a major role in building middle class wealth. If you wanted to buy a house in 1934 you had to pay 50% in cash. Paid in full within 3-5 years. Basically, home ownership was reserved for the ultra rich. 5/15

The federal housing administration later changed this to the model we see today: the 30 year mortgage. This created a demand for homes like never before. Homeownership skyrocketed from 30% to 70% and these new homes were built where? The suburbs. 6/15

For the working and middle class, homeownership is the most powerful way to build wealth to pass on to the next generation. But, redlining became enacted to keep blacks out of white neighborhoods which resulted in black people being denied FHA loans and, consequently, homes. 7/15

Not only did this banish black Americans to the most unattractive parts of town without home to own (and therefore little wealth) to pass on to their children, it devalued inner city housing for decades, sustaining the neighborhoods we call today “ghettos” 8/15

Between 1933-1962, $120B in home and business loans were given out to Americans. Today that’s an impact of over $2 trillion. Over 98% of that went to white people. Home AND business loans. 9/15

GI Bill of Rights in 1944 sent veterans of WWII, Korean and Vietnam wars to college. However, blacks were only allowed to attend black colleges of which there weren’t many. Thus, few black adults were actually able to take advantage of a government sponsored education 10/15

So, millions of white males received a free education, became engineers and doctors AND given job assistance through trade schools. So, black men got the same perks right? Well, there was a problem with racists practices within the military in terms of assigning jobs. 11/15

When you came home from the military you were given a job that matched the skills you had in the military. So white men were given jobs as mechanics and builders while black men came home to be dishwashers and cooks. All of these disparities had a multi-generational impact. 12/15

Today, the average household of a white man who graduated high school holds more wealth than one led by a black man with a college degree and the average white household has 13x the wealth of a black household. After unpacking this history, it’s not difficult to see why. 13/15

That’s why it’s painful to see white people insist blacks are poor, uneducated and criminals of necessity and desperation due to a lack of fortitude. “Stop playing victim” and “just work harder, you’re the only one holding yourself back!” = supreme ignorance of US history 14/15

So, is affirmative action racist? Well, when we see how whites got preferential treatment for housing, land, education, jobs and even citizenship, then you must ask yourself if the US was built on affirmative action for white people. And we’re just fighting to catch up. 15/15