From Dreams of My Father: 'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.'

From Dreams of My Father : 'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother?s race.'

From Dreams of My Father: 'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.'

From Dreams of My Father:  'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.'

From Dreams of My Father: 'I never emulated white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.'

From Audacity of Hope: 'I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.'

The purpose of this post is to try to inform those who might not be aware of the “politically correct” litmus tests that are being used in the application process of some (or perhaps most) of our nation’s public institutions of higher learning.

A few months ago, a close family member of mine applied to a public graduate school in my area.  His application packet met all the school’s criteria and included glowing recommendations from his superiors and colleagues.  However, as part of the application process, he was interviewed by a lady who asked him the following, remarkable question:  “How do you feel about racism, sexism, and homophobia?”  As he glanced at the rainbow flag flying in her office, the first thought that came to his mind was, “Wait a minute.  Am I really sitting smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt of America, or have I suddenly been transported to urban California or New York?” 

Rather than try to deal with each aspect of the question (which severely encroached upon his most private personal beliefs), he simply made the following statement:  “Well, as (an obviously white) male, I feel that I have sometimes been discriminated against in hiring practices.”  Whoa!!  That was not what she wanted to hear!!

Six weeks later, he received not one, but two, very vaguely-worded rejection letters.  He wasn't disappointed.  He had already decided that academic freedom had long since departed from that institution.  I can’t help but wonder, though, how many parents, taxpayers, alumni, and scholarship foundations are really aware of what is going on.  I urge the readers to check out the web sites and catalogs of the schools in which they are interested.  A word of caution, though:  Sometimes the liberal agenda is boldly and proudly displayed.  Sometimes it’s hidden until an impressionable (they hope) young person shows up for an interview!!