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Once thought of as a panacea for race relations, affirmative action as practiced today is at best a band-aid when stitches are needed. It helps a few at the expense of a few others. It is heralded as a great equalizer but rarely do it’s recipients feel equal. It improves the financial situation of some but leaves the majority of intended recipients out in the cold. The time of affirmative action needs to come to a close. Now is the time for long overdue reparations.

Affirmative action, as practiced today, is a failure. The reason it failed is because it forces the few individuals who are affected by it to pay the price for a whole country’s sins. The better applicant who is passed over for a job or promotion pays the price. The more qualified person who cannot get into an ivy league school also pays the price. All the while, society as a whole never pays the price. Modern affirmative action also fails because it gives positions based on the color of ones skin instead of merit and ability. For instance, an underrepresented minority may obtain a position in medical school that he or she is not qualified for. The repercussions of such actions may be minor in that the student will have to work harder to graduate or they may be serious such as a student dropping out, or worse, having an unqualified doctor.

I’m not sure how affirmative action morphed from it’s original intent to what we have now. Affirmative action started as a method to ensure that we advertise jobs in what was then considered non traditional methods. For instance, advertising in predominantly black markets would be likely to draw applications from black people. At some point, this morphed into what we have today which is to give jobs and school positions to people based on the color or their skin. This new affirmative action has helped some underrepresented minorities but has not solved our racial problems. It has not helped the large minority populations that are living in poverty stricken and crime riddled neighborhoods. It has not brought blacks and whites together in any meaningful dialog.

If affirmative action is not the answer then what is? No one solution will solve all of our race related problems but there is one solution that can seriously alleviate the disadvantages that many blacks face today. In time a comprehensive policy of reparations can alleviate much of the economic and social disadvantages blacks face today. While pondering this five principals came to mind.

1) Reparations should enable blacks to achieve equality
2) Reparations should not require preferential hiring or school placements
3) Reparations should last for a finite amount of time
4) Reparations should be final in that they solve a problem 5) The affect of reparations will probably take a few generations to become fully realized

With these principles in mind reparations should take the following form.

1) No federal taxes Ending federal taxes will immediately benefit the economic situation for middle and upper class blacks.

2) Free college education and immediate creation of local colleges in urban areas with large black populations. Making college free will increase the earning potential of blacks who cannot afford to go to college. However, the free college would have to include room and board. More local college options need to be created as well. For instance, college classes can be taught nights at high schools or during the day in public offices.

3) Free psychological counseling One frequently hears about the psychological pressures of being black. This appears to be particularly true about black men who face the challenge of succeeding in life while not forgetting where they came from. Brewing anger and resentment needs a healthy release. As such, counseling is an extremely important part of reparations.

4) Free business classes and no interest loans to start black owned businesses. Throughout American history, small businesses have been the vehicle to economic stability. Small businesses create jobs and create a sustainable wealth for the owners.

Reparations will not solve all of America’s race problems. Here are a few things to consider:

1) Exactly who should receive reparations? Only descendants of slaves, All black Americans? 2) How long should these reparations last?
3) It will take at least a generation for the majority of poor blacks to feel any benefit from these proposed reparations. How can we speed that up? 3) How do we deal with the ever increasing separation between whites and blacks?