Yes - allowing blacks in America to attend college and move into neighborhoods without the threat of being killed was an act designed to chastise them.

I think posts of this nature (including OP) reflect a fear of not belonging to the dominant ‘caste’ and of being seen as either losing status (dominant caste men not getting jobs they are ‘the best’ for); or, alternatively, lower caste men wanting to be seen as valuable in a space they continually feel they do not belong in.

I say this as a someone who is a minority who regularly is discriminated against - and who has easily attained markers of success. There is no way to avoid feeling like we do not belong, but returning us to poverty and shutting us out of jobs is definitely not a way to attain a feeling of belonging.

Finally, DEI initiatives are very public - nepotism, alma mater connections etc are not. Let’s be careful in assuming that the only non-LEET code metric used to hire people is the color of the skin or their biological sex.

Thank you for pointing out that last part. I think folks forget how vital that foot in the door is/was, whether it's the school on your resume or the reference from the internship your uncle got for you. You might get 99% of the way there by hard work but if the other applicant's essentially grandfathered in (analogy intentional), what have you gained?