4.2.12 WC: 191694
would be something quite different from the America we have known. Far from being abhorrent, invidious and irrelevant, racial and ethnic classifications would be officially sanctioned and recognized in all walks of life; each professional or office holder would be regarded, and would regard himself, as a representative of the group from whose quota he comes; and individual aspiration would be limited by the proportionate size of the group to which the individual belongs.
We argued in favor of individualized preferences based on actual experiences:
If individual blacks applying to Davis Medical School have suffered economic hardship because they encountered discrimination, attended segregated schools or lived in segregated neighborhoods, these facts could be brought to the attention of the Admission Committee and their records evaluated accordingly. Any other system of preferences based on mere membership in a group which, because of its color or physiognomy, has suffered discrimination can only result in a society in which race consciousness and partisanship become the significant operative forces and race prejudice, rather than being minimized, is legitimated.
We quoted several Black leaders, such as Roy Wilkins, who opposed proportional representation:
... It is ridiculous for Negroes to claim that because they are 40 percent of the population, they should have 40 percent of the jobs, 40 percent of the elected offices, etc.
This is self-defeating nonsense, for no person of ability wants to be limited in his horizons by an arbitrary quota or wants to endure unqualified people in positions that they fill only because of a numerical racial quota.
... Such practices and, in fact, the whole black-tilted system are doing no favors to Negro applicants. God knows it is true that the cards have been deliberately stacked against blacks. Every feasible step, even those costing extra money, should be taken to correct this racialism.
But there must not be a lowering of standards. Negroes need to insist on being among the best, not on being the best of the second- or third-raters. . . .
We urged the Court to require the medical school to develop an affirmative action program that was compatible with the dream of a color blind America:
Schools may and, we think, should evaluate both grades and test scores in the light of a candidate's background; whether he came from a culturally impoverished home; the nature and quality of the schools he attended; whether family circumstances required him to work while attending school; whether he chose to participate in athletics, the orchestra, school newspaper, literary magazine, campus government; whether he had demonstrated a
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