Analysis Of Walter Benn Michael's The Trouble With Diversity

Strives for Integration Reinforcing identity values, diversity, and notions of intersectionality, are all core issues facing contemporary society. In this current national political climate, the need for accepting diversity and valuing differences is at the top of the societal list. With movement after movement sprouting, people are looking for socially powerful leaders to lead them in the direction of societal and political reform. When minorities examine media sources and view the faces that represent their country, the rarity of individuals who share the same qualities is frightening. It is not simply about the diversity of the physicality, but about the diversity of those who are willing to enact a positive social change. It is to have
The emphasis is on opportunity. It levels the field for many who see them selves not represented in the vast majority of society. Walter Benn Michael’s states in “The Trouble with Diversity”, “ the whole point [is] for [universities and employers] to argue for the desirability for a diverse student body [and workforce] without appealing to the history of discrimination” (728). Institutions are meant to commit to diversification values without stemming into the notion of reverse racism. It is a common misconception that such policies undercut otherwise qualified white males in favor of unqualified marginalized
The minorities in America are still citizens of the nation, yet are largely misrepresented, even with the acquisition of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. American society is far from having that equality forum it so eagerly boasts. According to Race In America, in 1996 when California Voters enforced Proposition 209, which eliminated most affirmative action programs statewide, it resulted in the drastic decline in admittance of African Americans and Latinos into California top Universities (478). Without the regulatory implementation of policies that favor minorities, institutions default back into their regular setting and disregard the notion of diversity. Minorities again suffer and their opportunities are once again limited. The fact remains that institutional racism, although reluctant to be discussed, is still a prevalent issue. Tim Wise states in “Affirmative Action Is Not Racial Profiling,” “despite affirmative action, statistics show that whites still are advantaged in educational opportunities and employments.” To argue that such policies are taking the position of other whites, is a huge misconception given the statistics nationwide. Society has the moral obligation to dismantle the wide belief of racial