SHEMIKA DAVIS: Will Black people be respected among their professional peers?
Friday, June 9, 2023 -- No other race is questioned about the validity of their degree based on how they were admitted into a school. So why should state Rep. Jones, D-Wake, have to defend his degree?
Posted — UpdatedNo other race is questioned about the validity of their degree based on how they were admitted into a school. So why should Jones have to defend his degree? Students are admitted to colleges based on certain criteria that usually includes test scores, class rank, and participation in other activities, such as sports. The admissions team uses that information to determine whether a student will be successful at the school.
I don’t know what the admissions criteria were at Harvard in 1970. But Jones wouldn't have been admitted if he had not been an outstanding high school student, and if the admissions staff did not think he would succeed. He did succeed. After graduating from Harvard, he was admitted to Harvard Law School and earned a law degree.
The frustrating part of being an African American is that we already feel that we must work so much harder so that our success is viewed as valid. This situation can be considered a piece of evidence that many people of other races may think that a person of color is not validated if they do not work ten times harder for their success.
It appears that African Americans are held to a higher and even different standard. Other situations involving politicians have come to different conclusions.
Jones did not deserve this public humiliation. He’s had a distinguished career as a prosecutor, judge, Wake County commissioner, and state legislator. The sad reality is that African American people are not respected on some platforms, especially political ones.
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