The idea behind affirmative action is not that people of minorities are more deserving on scholarships or jobs, but rather that, if the government doesn't step in, people of race will be less likely to get these things than the non-minorities.

For instance, there are a lot of areas of the US that it would probably be very, very hard for a black person to get hired if there were no such thing as affirmative action. Unfortunately, this means either the government leaves things like they are, or they step in and "fix it." It isn't much of a fix, but it's at least better than it would be without it.