June 14th, 2018

Dwindling basis for white supremacy

The assertion of white supremacy by some Americans of European descent has suffered another blow. Karthik Nemmani, a 14-year-old Indian-American lad now living with his family in Texas, has just won the 91st Scripps National Spelling Bee. In fact, Indian-American youngsters have won all of the last 13 Scripps Spelling Bees, which are major national academic events. In addition to challenging inadvertently the flawed concept of white superiority, young Nemmani was also awarded $42,000 in cash and prizes.

Asians continue to demonstrate their academic prowess. They have gained disproportionate admission to Boston Latin School, the city’s premier exam school. While only 9 percent of the Boston school-age population is Asian, they occupy 29.1 percent of BLS seats. This ratio is similar to whites who are 14.2 percent of the school-age population, but are 45.9 percent of the BLS student body. Unfortunately, African Americans and Latinos still have a lot of ground to make up to be academically competitive.

The acid test when comparing ethnic groups in America is the income level each has attained. Asians are the most affluent group, with a median household income of $78,141. The similar income level for whites is only $63,745, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures for 2016. And Indians are at the top of the Asian group, with a median family income of $100,000.

It is time for African Americans to understand that the performance of whites is no longer the gold standard of academic and professional achievement. Their ice is actually not colder.

Education, Race