President Obama Defends Affirmative Action At UT Austin

President Obama Defends Affirmative Action At UT Austin

President Obama is still clapping back at critics suggesting he doesn’t do enough for the black community.

The Obama Administration recently submitted a brief in support of an affirmative action policy at the University of Texas (Austin) that uses race as part of its efforts to increase diversity in their educational programs and university culture.

President Obama and his administration have taken a strong stand in favor of race-based affirmative action this week, even as some Democrats and liberals, including the president himself, have suggested a gradual shift to more class-based instead of racial preferences should happen in the future.

Ahead of a Supreme Court hearing in October on the University of Texas at Austin’s use of race in its undergraduate admissions, the administration filed a brief Monday supporting the university.

A white woman who was rejected from the college in 2008 filed suit, arguing the university’s use of race violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The university uses race as part of its”personal achievement index,” which includes other factors such as family income and work experience, generally following guidelines the Supreme Court laid out in 2003 case involving the University of Michigan’s affirmative action program.

In defending the Texas policy, the government, in a brief written by the Department of Justice, argues diversity “is a pressing necessity in a era of intense competition in the global economy and ever evolving worldwide national security threats.” The brief also says it is important for the University of Texas to “train students to become the next generation of Texas leaders by exposing them to the many diverse perspectives and cross-racial interactions that they will encounter in civic life.”

Obama’s embrace of the Texas policy is not surprising, as he has long favored affirmative action. When asked about in 2008, he defended the practice, while at the same time saying, “I think that we should take into account white kids who have been disadvantaged and have grown up in poverty,” according to the Washington Post. And he noted that his daughters, who he argues have lived a life of privilege, should not benefit from race-based preferences.

Sounds like ol’ Barry is puttin’ in work for that black vote!

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