EXCELLENCE IS THE BEST ANSWER TO RACISM.

Coleman Young might have flown with the Tuskegee Airmen, but he disregarded his Commander's Intentions every time something went sideways in Detroit. "All My Troubles Reflect Your Racism."  It's not that things have gotten any better in Detroit in the past forty years.

These days, is his schtick the go-to grievance every time something goes sideways for a person enjoying protected status?

The saddest thing about Fani Willis' despicable, illiterate, corrupt performance today is the shadow it casts on capable, professional black women who earned their place at the table and are not corrupt.

The worst aspect of affirmative action is the way it calls into question…

— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) February 15, 2024

The schtick does not impress Hot Air contributor Beege Welborn, who sees it as "Yes, Honky, there is an Affirmative Action Asterisk.  What are you going to do about it?"

Maybe a sense of entitled frustration that breaks through with a waspish, "And how dare you ask me as a [insert skin hue] woman!" As if that very person was of a status deemed beyond questioning by virtue of a physical feature obtained by genetics alone.

You'd think there would be enough people of ability to make excellence speak for itself, but that does not seem to be the case.

This defaulting to skin hue defense is just another brick in the racial divide wall that needs to come down.

Bad judgment, incompetence, malfeasance, mendacity, and grift have no color preference.

They are equal opportunity vices.

Yes, and none too soon for Kira Davis, who writes for right populist media as "Sister Toldjah," and she really doesn't like her leftist sisters putting the asterisk on her.

As a Black woman and working professional, I've never been a huge fan of affirmative action and the recent rise of critical theory, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives has only bolstered my resistance. While it may seem necessary to some in order to right the wrongs of the past, I can sum up why these measures are an unmitigated disaster for hard-working Black Americans in two words:

Fani Willis.

Who couldn't even do "I am Outraged" well.

Her position and the historic nature of the case she is prosecuting put her in an elite class most Black people will never even dream of reaching. One would expect such a person to be polished and classy, and able to remain so even while responding to an uncomfortable barrage of questions on the witness stand.

Instead, what we got was a defiant, childish, sour woman who spoke with the sophistication of teenage girl at her first college party.

It wasn't simply that she sounded angry—she also sounded stupid.

It's Ms Davis who has a lot to lose when those entitled recipients of affirmative action flaunt their asterisks.

As I watched her testimony with my husband, an unspoken dread passed between us, weighted by a certain type of sadness. We understood instinctively that we were watching result of a diversity-first system that ends up elevating the weak while simultaneously besmirching the strong.

Willis is an elected official, but to even be in a position to run for one of the highest offices in her state means she has passed through elite job after elite job. She has received degrees, awards, and accolades.

How on earth, then, does such an "accomplished" woman sound like a freshman college student while participating in the trial of the century? Her foul demeanor and childish expressions only serve to magnify the grotesque consequences diversity hiring has for Black America in general.

Every time someone like me seeks professional advancement, I am forced to wonder how many people in the room think I shouldn't be there before I've even opened my mouth. I will have to swallow offenses I should really be battling, because I must battle not only my professional challengers, but the specter of the "angry, defiant black woman" who only got her job because she's not white. Many of my colleagues will look at any complaint I have as frivolous and rooted in entitlement. I must be my best, and then be even better than my best, because of the pathetic expectations Willis and her counterparts have sown on behalf of the rest of us.

Indeed.