The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Awards for Children's Books

Wow!! There are a ton of awards for children's books. It is amazing to me not just how many books awards there are, but the criteria for the books. I am on the fence still after our classroom discussion! On one hand I feel that good books do need to be recognized and awarded! But on the other, I believe that the criteria to get some of the awards is inappropriate!
I believe a good book, is a good book, is a good book! With this said, I do not agree with the criteria of some of the awards. Specifically the ones that ask for the author to be of the race they are writing about. It just blows my mind that GREAT authors are denied the ability to compete for these awards because of the color of their skin, their background, anything else. Discrimination has no place when it comes to children's books. After all aren't we trying to teach the children of this world to be accepting.
Don't get me wrong here! I do understand that people the feel under represented deserve a chance too! But wouldn't they rather compete against the best of the best to take that title, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Therefore, I believe that the awards are wonderful but the criteria for some is not!