MSNBC Host: Without Affirmative Action in Colleges, the 'Entire Leadership of America Would Become Entirely White

During Tuesday's edition of MSNBC's "The Cycle," co-host Touré made the argument that without affirmative action in colleges, "the entire leadership of America would become entirely white."

This, he explained, is barely a "whitewashing of what we already have" in America today.

"The Cycle" hosted Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor Jr., the authors of "Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won't Admit It." Touré began by citing the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which called their work "junk science," in an attempt to discredit them before even allowing them to make their case.

"You suggest that it's better for these black and brown students to go to second tier schools rather than to go to Harvard or Yale, the first tier schools. The entire Supreme Court comes from Harvard or Yale. Almost all presidents, Harvard or Yale – all the top of corporate America," Touré said.

"So, if we follow your prescription then the entire leadership of America would become entirely white, which is just a barely whitewashing of what we already have," he added.

Sander, a UCLA law professor, said the problem with Touré's argument is "the fallacy of whether leaders come from top schools because they went to the top schools or because the top schools were good at admitting the strongest people."

"The fact is, that there would be lots of black and brown people at elite schools without racial preferences. And they wouldn't have the cloud of whether they benefited from racial preferences hanging over them," Sander explained.

He added that "Mismatch" doesn't advocate for eliminating "racial preferences" but rather to "curtail them in a couple of ways" and provide transparency about the issue.

For example, he said when African-American students are admitted into law school, they aren't told that only one in three blacks entering law school will graduate and pass the bar in their first attempt.

Watch the segment via MSNBC here: