...preferential jobs and admissions for blacks are no more reparations than similar preferences given to veterans.
But, of course, there is a huge difference between preferential treatment based on one's service to one's country and preferential treatment based on one's skin color. One is an acknowledgement of and thanks for a service provided.
The other is racism, pure and simple.
Too often we confuse the two. There is a movement in this country that believes the best way to make our society equitable is to make certain practices, like college admission and job hiring, inequitable based on race. Which just doesn't make any sense. If we want these things to be equitable then race should not and cannot be part of the equation.
Instead the focus should be on rewarding accomplishment. Those who work the hardest and get the best grades should be the first admitted to college or hired for a new job. Doing it any other way only serves to weaken our society.