Do I Deserve?

My name is Elijah Christopher DeVaughn II, and I am black. I am a black

boy. Do I deserve the benefits of race-based Affirmative Action? Do I
deserve to be admitted over a white person who is just as qualified as I am?
Do I deserve to be admitted to a college over my best friend simply because
I am black, and he is white? Do I deserve? These were the questions that
ran through my mind, as I considered the topic of race-based Affirmative
Action.
My name is Elijah Christopher DeVaughn II, and I am a black boy who
views himself as an individual. After completing my initial research, I
thought race-based Affirmative Action was an utter injustice, stripping
opportunity from white students who so deserve the education they have
worked for. I wrote: race-based Affirmative Action in college admissions . . .

neglects some majority students of an enriched education . . . perpetuating the

inequity this policy sought and seeks to rid of. Growing up with white friends, I
thought, excuse me, believed that race-based Affirmative Action prevented my
friends from achieving their goals. I believed that race-based Affirmative Action
was a form of discrimination both against my friends and me, judging ones ability
or qualification on skin color, not on actual merit. I did not want this reality for my
white friends, I did not want this reality for myself, and I most definitely did not
want this unfair advantage. In my opinion, I did not deserve.

My name is Elijah Christopher DeVaughn II, and I am a black boy apart of a

greater community. As I continued my research, I uncovered the grave
economic disparity between blacks and whites America, as a result of
blacks lack of opportunity. Race-based Affirmative Action, I realized, serves
as source of opportunity to higher education, wherein blacks broaden their
perspectives and increase their chances of achieving economic stability. My
views began to change. I began to consider the idea of equal opportunity
that has pervaded the discussion of America since its conception. I began to
realize that race-based Affirmative action ensures the presence of this ideal:
creating a more economically equitable society. The black community has
not been acquitted with the same opportunity as whites for the greater part
of American history, and this has produced grave inequity in a society where
all citizens are supposed to be equal. Black america is still so far behind
white america. But I thought our nation was about attaining a better life . . .
about attaining the American dream? Sadly, my black people have not
attained this dream. They have not reached the finish line.
My name is Elijah Christopher DeVaughn II, and I am a black boy who
chooses the community over himself. My support of race-based Affirmative
Action sheds light on the ethical tension that pervades our day-to-day lives:
should we choose our community or ourselves? I realize that I may not
deserve. But we deserve . . . the greater black community deserves. The
admittance of one black person reflects the victory of the entire black

community. The admittance of one black person allows him to attain

economic stability and decrease the percent of blacks impoverished by that
much. The admittance of one black person inspires a young black boy to
strive to attain a higher educationto achieve more. We deserve the
opportunity to attend higher education institutions where we can enhance
our perspectives. We deserve the opportunity to achieve the same economic
stability of our white compatriots. We deserve the opportunity to achieve
the American dream. Embarking on this project, I believed the individual
must always trump the community. But I now realize I cant say I am proud
black man if I don't put my black brothers and sisters--my black
community--before myself. I support race-based Affirmative Action, for it
allows blacks to fight for equality in opportunity--something an American
citizen so rightfully deserves. For years America has not been a perfect
union . . . it is still not a perfect union. But race-based Affirmative Action
has definitely wiped away some of that imperfection.
We deserve.