Self-esteem and the case for segregation

As most conservatives are aware, the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which held that racially segregrated schools were unconstitutional, was based on a highly questionable “scientific” finding that black childen have lower self-esteem than white children, a difference supposedly caused by segregation. But since in reality (and as shown by many subsequent studies) blacks have vastly greater self-esteem than whites, what justification remains for forced school integration? Of all the areas in society where a reasonable case for racial separation could be made, education stands out. Given the significant intellectual, psychological, and behavioral differences between blacks and whites, it is obvious that black children and white children would do better if placed in different schools geared to their widely divergent qualities and ability levels. At the very least, if the people of a local community prefer segregrated schools, that choice should not be prohibited to them by the federal courts.

I was reminded of the extraordinary fact of black self-esteem by this, in the Daily Caller:

DC city councilman Marion Barry defends himself: “God gave me a great brain”

Marion Barry, the Washington, D.C. city councilman with a knack for finding himself in hot water, is arguing that not only is he “one of the most successful elected officials in America” but that “God gave me a great brain.”

The former Washington mayor caught on camera smoking crack cocaine in 1990 defended himself in a stunning interview with The Washington Examiner after finding himself in a firestorm last week for making offensive comments about Asian-Americans.

“I’m doing God’s work,” Barry told the paper. “I have made public service my ministry. God gave me a great brain, courage, charisma, vision and the kinds of things that make leaders.”

You know, it’s not fair. Why can’t I have the overweening self-confidence and the charisma that Barry has, along with the enhanced enjoyment of life he derives from them? Why do I have to be so self-critical and self-questioning? Maybe God and nature gave out gifts to human beings unequally, and we have no choice but to accept these differences, along with their practical and social consequences.

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Randall J. writes:

Seeing your comment next to Marion Barry’s, I couldn’t help but think of the famous Bertrand Russell quote. “The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.”

LA replies:

But if this is true, why are liberals, who believe they are so much smarter than us ape-like conservatives, so full of themselves? Hmm, could they be like Barry?

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 09, 2012 12:40 AM | Send