I look at this dilemma and others like it [1] as friction on the boundary of micro/macro thinking. A black person can certainly make it though the front door of

I look at this dilemma and others like it [1] as friction on the boundary of micro/macro thinking. A black person can certainly make it though the front door of YC, since people who run YC aren't racist. However, black people as a group still face racism and so affirmative action and policies like that are totally justified. Another way to look at it is that even if individual experiences are varied enough that they will drown out racial contribution when considered one at a time, racism can still hold back a group of people by 5-10% or whatever, and so that needs to be addressed. It helps explain why a policy like this is not generally considered racist, but if YC were to single out one individual for YC on the basis of his race, it probably would be. [1] cf "Poor people should skill up and improve themselves" as well.