President Donald Trump is canceling affirmative action programs in federal agencies. This has naturally created a lot of furor among liberal black groups and liberal white groups. Is their furor justified? To determine this, we must ask what Affirmative Action’s purpose was, whether it has helped black Americans in the past, and whether it is still helping them today.

The Good Intentions of Affirmative Action

Affirmative action began with the noble goal of ensuring that hardworking Black Americans were not overlooked when it came to jobs and promotions. The idea was that meritocracy was fundamental and advancement should not be based on skin color but on ability. Some may argue, how can one’s abilities be valued if opportunities are never provided? This is why the concept aimed to support black individuals throughout their careers and education—starting at the bottom and building upward. The principle was that at no point should the second-best white person take the job, promotion, scholarship, or opportunity that the best black person deserved.

It never meant promoting unqualified individuals without proper training into roles where failure was inevitable. Such actions would harm them personally and tarnish the perception of all black professionals over time.

Yet, this is precisely what happened. Over time, the implementation of affirmative action veered away from its original goal. Instead of fostering a culture of excellence and competition, it created an environment where underperformance could be overlooked based on identity. In a deeply ironic twist, white liberals began excusing underperformance among Black individuals simply because they were “Black.” Such behavior is profoundly racist, as it expects and accepts mediocrity based on skin color. This not only undermined the credibility of those hired under such programs but also, as predicted, reinforced stereotypes about Black underachievement, perpetuating the very biases the policy sought to dismantle.

Now, when a black person attains a position of power, people question whether they are truly the best for the role or if they were placed there because of their skin color. For those who have worked hard to achieve their positions, such assumptions are deeply insulting. I, for one, do not want to be judged by the color of my skin.

A Tale of Two Communities: Lessons from Japanese and Chinese Americans

Has affirmative action helped Black Americans? While it began by helping, it should have been dismantled decades ago. One need only look to the experiences of Japanese and Chinese Americans to understand the unintended consequences of affirmative action. These communities faced significant discrimination in America’s history, yet they did not rely on affirmative action to climb the socioeconomic ladder. Instead, they emphasized education, discipline, and hard work. Today, their success stories speak volumes, as they excel in fields ranging from technology to medicine, often outpacing other groups in terms of achievement and representation. They never had an easy path.

Japanese and Chinese Americans are so accomplished that they rank among the top income earners in America. So much so that UC Berkeley’s admission programs discriminated against Asians because they were doing too well. Meanwhile, the same UC system assumed black students could not achieve the same standards and infantilized them. Worse, when black students struggled to meet the same levels as Asians, liberals did not address the root causes but instead claimed that education itself—reading, writing, and arithmetic—was racist. This attitude is the most racist of all, as it undermines the potential of Black individuals. How dare you say blacks are incapable of achieving at the same level of expertise as Asians? 

As I have shown in my book, “How to Stop Racism in America: A Real Solution for African American Plight,” there is no widespread racism against skin color today. Why? Because Nigerian immigrants, who are often darker-skinned than many black Americans and did not grow up with affirmative action, earn a median salary higher than that of domestically raised white Americans. This is simply not a racist nation. Yes, there are individual racists, but they hold little sway over economic advancement, except for those liberals who create policies that infantilize Black people.

Clearly, in contrast to Asians, reliance on affirmative action has hindered the Black community’s progress. By allowing skin color and ethnicity to override merit, the policy created a culture that disincentivized excellence and fostered dependency on external support rather than self-reliance and competitiveness. Affirmative action ultimately cultivated a culture of dependency and mediocrity among many black Americans, which is a cultural problem not a racism problem.

Do we need affirmative action today? The way to answer that question is to ask another: What can white Americans do today that black Americans cannot? What economic opportunities are denied to black Americans but available to whites with the same economic and family background? The answer is none.

Affirmative Action’s Role in Opening the Door to Other Controversial Policies

The erosion of affirmative action’s original purpose also paved the way for policies and ideologies that have marginalized the very groups it was meant to help. For example, the rise of transgender policies in sports and employment has often come at the expense of women’s rights, disproportionately affecting black women, who already face cultural disincentives to excel. Affirmative action’s framework of prioritizing identity over merit created the conditions for unscientific, illogical “transgenderism” to infiltrate policy discussions, further eroding the gains made by black Americans and in fact, women in general.

Private Companies Are Still Free to Choose

Private companies remain entirely free to implement their own hiring practices, including those that prioritize diversity based on color rather than merit or diversity of ideas. However, the government’s role should be to promote equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes. Companies that hire based on factors other than merit are still at liberty to do so, but such practices are no longer mandated for federal contractors or agencies.

As we have seen in companies like Boeing, affirmative action often leads to poor outcomes, such as dangerous products and devalued stock, which naturally discourages customers and shareholders. In the private sector this is self-healing.

Returning to Dr. King’s Vision

Dr. King’s dream of a society judged by character and ability rather than race is now closer to realization. These changes present an opportunity to realign hiring practices with the ideals espoused by Dr. King, who famously dreamed of a society where individuals are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. This shift could mark a turning point for our nation, moving us toward true equality rather than perpetuating dependence and inequity.

Removing affirmative action restores fairness and meritocracy while eliminating the stigma of tokenism for black professionals. Expecting excellence from all Americans is not white supremacy; it is a call for everyone to rise to their full potential.

In actuality, addressing systemic issues—such as improving education, reducing crime, and encouraging family stability—will provide a stronger foundation for the black community to thrive. Affirmative action may have been a necessary bridge, but it was corrupted and was never a sustainable solution for long-term success. Human nature is such that people will stop striving if success is handed to them without effort.

Conclusion

As we move forward, it is essential to recognize that affirmative action, while born of good intentions, has outlived its usefulness. By prioritizing merit and returning to the principles of fairness and excellence, we can create a society that truly values individual potential over identity.

Finally, calling Trump a white supremacist for advocating such changes is not only inaccurate but detracts from the real discussion about how best to achieve equality and justice for all. Most importantly, it is ironic, as those who insist affirmative action is still needed are either racists infantilizing Black Americans or individuals clinging to a destructive policy for selfish gain or misguided reasons.

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