George,

Because substantively speaking immigration, legal and illegal, is a major factor in Sen. Webb's (D-Va) proposal on "Diversity and the Myth of White Privilege," it is in order to indicate at the outset of this essay that illegal immigrants are recipients of affirmative action benefits, especially in the areas of employment, education and health services. Webb suggests that these benefits are dispensed at the expense of white people.

My personal position regarding people living in America is: all Amrican citizens should be treated justly and equally and non-citizens should be treated with respect. This is not to say that non-citizens should have the same rights and privileges as citizens. They should be treated as guests. If they are not guests, why are they living in America?

Sen. Webb ended his [piece] with this appeal: "Memo to my fellow politicians: Drop the procrustean policies and allow harmony to invade the public mindset. Fairness will happen and bitterness will fade away." His concern is with white people getting a raw deal because of government-enforced programs for non-whites. He explains it thusly:

"A plethora of government-enforced diversity policies have marginalized many white workers. The time has come to cease the false arguments and allow every American the benefit of a fair chance at the future. ...Many porgams allow recently arrived immigrants to move ahead of similarly situated whites where families have been in this country for generations."

Webb acknowedges that American still owes a debt to her black citizens, but government programs to help all 'peope of color' are unfair and should end. In that regard, he states that President Lyndon B. Johnson's initial program for affirmative action was based on the 13th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which authorized the federal government to take action in order to eliminate "the badges of slavery."

He noted that "Those who came to this country in recent decades from Asia, Latin America and Africa did not suffer discrimination from our government and in fact have frequently been the beneficiaries of special government programs. The same cannot be said of many hard-working white Amerians including those whose roots in America go back more than 200 years."

Now, that it is clear what the contents of Sen. Webb's diversity affirmative action proposal are, including his call for maintaining affirmative action for African Americans whose ancestors did not voluntarily come to America as did people of other ethnic groups and whose ancestors were enslaved in America, legally discriminated against and disfranchised for a hundred years after slavery, I want to offer my commentary on his proposal. I feel qualified to do so. My paternal grandfather, who had a greater influence on my life than any other man was born in slavery. After I served four years in the military, before and during the Korean War, I found it difficult to register to vote in my native state of Alabama just prior to the Montgomery Bus Boycott which I helped to lead.

It is clear that Webb acknowledges the price black people paid that no other ethnic group has paid in America justifies them receiving benefits to pay a debt owed them that no other ethnic group is entitled to receive. Although Webb did not comment on that group known as refugees who came to America beginning with the Korean War and including many more people from Cuba following the Cuban Revolution and later Vietnamese. Many of these so-called refugees should have remained in their native countries to help build great nations. It is my belief and it appears that Webb agrees refugees are not entiled to similar benefits as those received by black people.

The position I have held for more than a half century is that black Americans are entitled to reparations for 244 years of slave labor and 100 years of second-class citizenship in America that helped to enrich white America but impoverished them. An alternative to the payment of reparations is instituting of a government Marshall Plan-like progarm for black Americans. The legacy of slavery is the main reason there is black inequity today. America imports scientists and other educated people from India and Europe to perform tasks that African Americns woud be qualified to do had they been allowed to attend American universities in the South and not faced racial barriers in the North. Just as black people are top athletes today they would be top scientists, engineeers, etc., if they had not been excluded from equal educational opportunities in the nineteenth century and more than half of the twentieth century. We all know that any owner of a major league basketball team who is serious about winning a championship or being competitive will seek black players to join his team. Even today instead of making it possible for blacks to attend college, it is made easier for them to go to prison. The prison system is one of America's largest employers. Some judges, prosecuting attorneys and many others owe their jobs to the incarceration of black people who make up 47 percent of the prison population. Controllers have a vested interest in maintaining a large prison population.

Webb bemoans the rap white people are taking, especially the white male. About 30 years ago I read Herb Goldberg's book, "The Hazard of Being Male." He focused on the waning of manhood for white males in the post-feminist age. Although he was referring to white males, I identified with his message. Webb addresses the same issue. In all fairness, it must be recognized that traditionally the white male had privileges and received benefits not available to other people, including white women and, most assuredly, black people.

Because of the ugly history championed by the white man, especially with regards to his treatment of black people it is not easy for me to have sympathy for him, nevertheless, I agree with Senator Webb on this matter of diversity affirmation action and pledge my support for the cause he espouses.

Yes Webb, I agree that the government should award black Americans their just due. Today it is common to hear someone say during a discussion of illegal immigartion, "Don't give them amnesty...let them 'get in line'... to become citizens." I say regarding diversity affirmation for non-black people living in America, including legal and illegal immigrants, let them "get in line," and receive these benefits only after blacks reecive theirs. After all, black people have waited for more than a century for some benefits that are taken for granted by white Americans. To accomplish this the category that came into existence after the Civil Right era called "minorities," must be eliminated or at a minimum not include black people. Minorities is used to lump together a number of groupings that include illegal immigrants, people with disabilities, white women and sexual orientation practitioners. In some instances only white men are excluded as it appears that Webb is addressing in his editorial on diversity affirmative action. Of course, the white male has played a significant role in promoting injustice and in the creation of some of these groupings.

There is the need for a through understanding of the history of America and the reason diversity affirmative action became necessary. Just as the 14th Amendment was not sufficient to grant black people the right to vote and a hundred years later it woud take a Voting Rights Act to accomplish that, existing laws and practices were not sufficient to grant just benefits that diversity affirmation would achieve, especially for black Amercians.

I commend Senator Webb for his foresight and courage. His diversity affirmation action proposal has merit. The Senator has my support.

Uriah J. Fields (Electronic Mail, July 26, 2010)