In institutions like fire departments and police outfits, good-ole-boys' networks have long been instrumental in keeping minorities out of leadership positions. There's certainly a place for AA in those sorts of institutions, where qualified candidates are still often locked out of promotional opportunities.
For universities, etc, I think the case is harder to make. My opinion is that society would be better-served by ameliorating the problems which seem to result in lower minority university attendance and performance, such as better lower-echelon schools, a better social safety net to ensure that material poverty doesn't turn into intellectual poverty, and so on. Simply requiring universities to accept a certain percentage of minority students, regardless of their preparation, doesn't seem to me to be useful.
For universities, etc, I think the case is harder to make. My opinion is that society would be better-served by ameliorating the problems which seem to result in lower minority university attendance and performance, such as better lower-echelon schools, a better social safety net to ensure that material poverty doesn't turn into intellectual poverty, and so on. Simply requiring universities to accept a certain percentage of minority students, regardless of their preparation, doesn't seem to me to be useful.
