A flurry of tweets blew up this writer’s mentions when she shared her story of the incorrect assumptions she says white people have about affirmative action.
Ashley C. Ford, a senior features writer, tweeted Monday, Aug. 1, about the many white people who “truly and genuinely believe that Black people get to go to college for free.”
She said while teaching wilderness survival at a Boy Scout camp the summer before she went to college, a fellow counselor, who is white, told her he didn’t apply for college.
What messed me up was he didn't say it in a snarky or accusatory way. He said it like we were just talking about water being wet.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 2, 2017
Y'all he was dead serious. No malice intended. And the rest of the dudes at the table were like, "That's not how it works?" And I'm like 😳😳😳
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 2, 2017
Understand I came from a school system that was 96% black. I'd never been around this many white folks in my life. I had a lot of questions.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 2, 2017
I asked how they knew the black folks were unqualified, and they all got quiet and then said stuff like, "Well my uncle/grandpa/dad said…"
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 2, 2017
Ford explained that the counselors at the camp, where she had been the only Black counselor in recent memory, were surprised that she didn’t get to attend college for free. She added the counselors went to schools where there were little to no non-white students and they thought Black people got other things for free, too.
They thought we got all kinds of stuff for free: jobs, housing, food, and apparently, whole ass college educations. Genuinely believed it.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 2, 2017
Before that summer I thought racism was something people did, not something they believed. I was naive af. But hey! We all gotta learn.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 2, 2017
The thread, which was made the same day a report from The New York Times said Donald Trump’s administration is looking to block affirmative action from being used as a barometer for college admissions, had many others chiming in about their experiences.
I was in the National Honor Society in high school & the academic honors program in college. White people often said "affirmative action."
— Nia Locke (@ImGoingNatural2) August 2, 2017
my first month in college, 2 white students told me that i only got in because of Affirmative Action. I was in the national honor society. 😳
— RAKISHA K.W. (@kikishoes) August 2, 2017
Was constantly asked if there was a special affirmative action program or black scholarship fund. I was a state speech champ and hnr student pic.twitter.com/uC8z24hMQU
— La Negra (@DomiElise) August 3, 2017
Others affirmed Ford’s account.
I have heard many variations on this from family members. There is a whole body of white folk lore on the goodies given to minorities.
— Gay penguin (@apatagonicus) August 2, 2017
Same. Got a relative who straight up told her boss the reason she (boss) got her job instead of her (relative) was because she was black.
— (((Davi da Silva))) (@davidasilva) August 2, 2017
A couple of people tweeted humorous responses.
Did I miss this payment option ? pic.twitter.com/P6e5Gx9vJn
— Tey 💜 (@ttteylor) August 3, 2017
Free huh? So I guess that 100K+ that my black ass owes for college is a mirage.
— mauricejoshua (@mauricejoshua) August 3, 2017
Two users provided insight into why they believe the idea persists.
A huge number of white people’s guiding political philosophy is the paranoia that somewhere a POC is getting something they don’t deserve.
— Marcus Casey (@marcusocasey) August 2, 2017
And they universalize their experiences w/indiv. POC to represent ALL POC. And will say their friends of color are “not like those people.”
— RedMenace (@maurinsky) August 2, 2017
One man tried to poke holes in Ford’s account.
It wasn't just him. He was the first who said it to me. Everybody else at the table agreed with him, and so have folks I've met after.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 2, 2017
But you wouldn’t buy it — you would tell me, correctly — that I was sterotyping. And so are you. The person u describe is a cartoon
— tim mullaney (@timmullaney) August 2, 2017
My point is not that this is every person or that they're evil people, it's that it is a prevalent myth that helps fuel racial tension.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 2, 2017
But many backed her up, not only regarding college admission but also government assistance.
Not top 10 percent, top 10 (I was No. 9). He graduated in the top 30% of his. I almost kirked out on him.
— Dontastic! ™ (@itsdonte) August 2, 2017
Meanwhile i had a black single mom on disability from a work injury and didnt get half the aid my roommate did. She had nothing else to say. pic.twitter.com/ed3b7z1KL9
— GaNaisha Calvin (@ganaisha) August 2, 2017
When you speak to people they like people from other countries that they know, it's "the others" the ones they read about in newspapers…
— Haze 48% (@haze2003purple) August 2, 2017
