It seems to me that this option would only make sense if being black or female made it more difficult for one to be accepted into the school or workplace. After correcting for the fact that black people are disproportionately poor, after correcting for the fact that they attend disproportionately attend inner-city schools, after correcting for the fact that they disproportionately live in poor, southern states, then you see whether a racial program makes sense. If it turns out that being from the inner city, for example, is actually what makes it more difficult for those students to be accepted, then inner-city residents should be compensated without regard to race, e.g.

Absolutely. A private individual or foundation can discriminate (within certain bounds, of course--diners can't turn away blacks anymore, etc.), and if a scholarship is established with private funds for women or minorities, I've got no kick about that.

I give that a hearty "Amen." I'd expand it include poor folks from rural American--those are both white, black and everything inbetween. The economic disadvantages in educational opportunities (and even in the attitude toward it) among some segments of our society is the key factor in perpetuating poverty within that segment. I don't deny racism still exists and is a factor, but the solution is not to treat members of our society differently, but rather to treat them the same. Giving economic help to the needy for education, regardless of skin color, makes sense in the long run--the GI Bill after WWII is a great example of that.