Ashley C. Ford also wrote an article about affirmative action in her Twitter thread. (Ashley C. Ford/Skillshare screenshot)
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.
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/892560246782251009
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/892561154433744899
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/892562078648741890
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/892563111743565827
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.
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/892564420399910913
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/892565801026428929
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
— The Black Topanga (@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.
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/892704035475787776
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
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/892715077153042432
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.
— Cathedral Jones (he/him) (@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 ハシバミ (@haze2003purple) August 2, 2017
