During today’s oral arguments about affirmative action in the context of Fisher v. Texas, Antonin Scalia said a patently offensive and racist thing. From Talking Points Memo:
Referencing an unidentified amicus brief, Scalia said that there were people who would contend that “it does not benefit African-Americans to — to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a less — a slower-track school where they do well.”
He argued that “most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas.”
“They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re — that they’re being pushed ahead in — in classes that are too — too fast for them,” Scalia said.
Well, I can think of a least one “black scientist” who came from “schools like the University of Texas.” You might have heard of him.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is probably the most famous astrophysicist in the country. He’s also one of the most famous black people in the country and.... put it like this, if he hijacked a space station it would still be a tragedy to shoot him.
He wasn’t born into fame and opportunity. Tyson is from the Bronx and went to public schools there. But he got his BA from Harvard and his MA in astronomy from (wait for it) the University of Texas. But please, Scalia, tell me more about how black people need slower tracks to comport with your DISGUSTINGLY RACIST WORLDVIEW ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU MALIGNANT BULWARK AGAINST PROGRESS.
The thing that really bothers racists like Scalia is that affirmative action has been one of the most SUCCESSFUL public policies ever. In one generation, blacks have gone from systemic discrimination to something that is approaching equal opportunity. We’re not there yet, too many poor black are still locked in a cycle of poverty where they can’t even access the benefits of diversity in higher education. But Tyson is proof that if you just give people a chance to rise up, they can do it.
Instead of celebrating a guy like Tyson, Scalia evidently doesn’t even know he exists. What a jerk.
