Talking Points #6: Wise "A Particularly White Whine"

          This article makes light of the fact that many white Americans complain that it is easier for African American students to receive scholarships to colleges that they would normally not enjoy because their merits are not up to par. It gives statistics that show how untrue this notion really is. According to Wise in fact, less than 4% of scholarships are awarded because of race and that 0.25% of scholarships are restricted to minorities. This article is interesting because I have heard that excuse before. I can't really say where, but I have heard it and dismissed it. I actually would assume and I may be wrong, that colleges would not want to award scholarships that apply directly to race because... whether people like to say it or not, as in the Johnson's S.C.W.A.M.P. article, race is a touchy subject, and many would rather just avoid it. All I can think about is those people who say things concerning whether scholarships are easier for African Americans obtain and I wonder about their ignorance and what they would say if someone showed them a few statistics. 
          Reading further I learned that the National Merit Scholarship for example is awarded to only 15,000 students and it is evenly distributed between the states and students receive them based on PSAT scores. BUT the kicker is, "Because the quality of schools varies dramatically across states, average scores on the PSAT will also vary widely, but students in Mississippi will alway get their 'fair share' even though many of them wouldn't have qualified had hey attended school in a state like Massachusetts." This system automatically knocks out those of color for the most part. In states that don't perform as well as others giving the privileged all the rewards. Just the tone of the writers article reminds me of Delpit's "The Silenced Dialogue." The author is obviously frustrated and the sarcastic tone is coming out because he is sick of hearing comments that black scholarships are unfair. 
           The last point that I really liked because it confronts the fact that there is racism and we can't avoid it. Many writers even myself, say that we need to end the fact that people base their opinions and ideas off of race and that we need to move forward and look past that, which should not be important anymore. But racism does exist and we can't just say get rid of it every being present. We have to recognize our mistakes and confront them instead of leaving ourselves in ignorance. The author says, "Surely scholarships for people of color are not predicated on intolerance for whites, nor are they based on some kind of blind contempt for white as a group. Rather they are rooted in the quite reasonable belief that people of color have been singled out for mistreatment on the basis of race, and thus, special efforts should be made to provide full opportunity to them, by taking account of the thing that had prompted the mistreatment in the first place." This reminds me of last weeks article by Kanhe and Westheimer because they confront what community service has become and that it shouldn't be about charity, but rather it should be because there is caring for the greater good and the fixing the wrongs that have been done to others!