It’s been relatively quiet around here lately so how about a rousing debate on race in America?

Iraqi war veteran Colby Bohannon has founded a group called the Former Majority Association For Equality and plans to offer five scholarships for qualified male students – the only catch, they have to be at least one quarter Caucasian. When interviewed by the American Statesmen Bohannon, who says his group doesn’t take a stand for or against Affirmative Action, said he’s just not sure that white men are the majority anymore.

Okay, NO ONE should be denied an opportunity for an education, regardless of race, religion or color. But opportunities are not equal and fair is a concept that really works best when forecasting the weather. I wonder if Bohannon has any idea of the numbers of very smart students of color who couldn’t afford to go to college or were denied admission for various reasons. Reading this story brought me right back to the discussions I had at points in my career in various newsrooms where someone told me I was ‘lucky” I was black because my resume tape would stand out. Forget the fact that I was typically one of only two people of color working in the newsroom.

I’m not exactly certain this plan of his wasn’t hatched on a bar napkin somewhere over a pitcher of margaritas because it doesn’t seem to be real well thought-out.

Bohannon says he’s not sure white men are the majority anymore, which, for the life of me, I can’t figure out why that’s such an earth-shattering concept. I guess because I’m not a white man. Bohannon would do himself well by snagging one of those scholarships and take a class on how to use the Internet because a quick Google search will tell you according to the latest figures, white people (not Hispanic) make up over 65 percent of the population. If we assume half of them are men, that’s still more than double the nearest group, African Americans (nearly 13 percent). I’m not even going to go into the history of race in this country and how people of color have long been discriminated against. Something tells me it would be lost on him.

Se let’s start today’s GEM Debate…

Should there be a scholarship for white men only? If so why? If not, why not?

BE RESPECTFUL please.