National affirmative action debate spurs on
Jessica Bassett/Special to the NNPA from the St. Louis American
Issue date: 1/11/09 Section: Politics
The law had significant effects on higher education, with UC Berkeley seeing a 61 percent drop in admissions of African Americans, Latinos and Native American students. UCLA had a 36 percent decline.
Opponents of affirmative action argue that Obama's election eliminates the need for special programs for Blacks, while states like Missouri struggle to keep their affirmative action programs afloat.
President-elect Obama has called traditional affirmative action "absolutely necessary."
During a Democratic debate in April, Obama told George Stephanopoulos his primary priority would be "providing ladders of opportunity" and making sure "every child in America has a decent shot in pursuing their dreams."
In his March speech on race in Philadelphia, he made clear that America needs these programs to address the legacy of discrimination.
He noted that legalized discrimination in FHA loans, for example, prevented Blacks from borrowing to purchase homes, leaving older Blacks with little accumulated wealth to pass down to generations.
He also pointed out that many African Americans continue to attend inferior, segregated schools, to live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and to grow up in single-parent households, all of which are connected to some degree to discrimination.
"We're over-represented on the football field and basketball court but not where it counts," said Curry, who benefited from affirmative action as a first-generation college graduate.
Affirmative action proponents say Obama's campaign, which attempted to transcend race, is proof that the system is working and should not be dismantled.
"For the first time in the country's history we had two serious minority candidates run for president," Brandon Davis said of Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton. Davis is political director of the Missouri/Kansas State Council of the Service Employees International Union and spokesman for the WeCAN Coalition that opposed banning affirmative action programs in Missouri institutions.
Like Obama, Davis suggested that affirmative action programs should be expanded to include class.
Curry disagrees, asserting that the needs of poor Whites should be addressed through antipoverty measures. As the country moves toward multiculturalism, it would be in the best interest for corporations to hire non-Whites, Curry said.
According to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau, ethnic and racial minorities will comprise a majority of the nation's population by 2042.
Opponents of affirmative action argue that Obama's election eliminates the need for special programs for Blacks, while states like Missouri struggle to keep their affirmative action programs afloat.
President-elect Obama has called traditional affirmative action "absolutely necessary."
During a Democratic debate in April, Obama told George Stephanopoulos his primary priority would be "providing ladders of opportunity" and making sure "every child in America has a decent shot in pursuing their dreams."
In his March speech on race in Philadelphia, he made clear that America needs these programs to address the legacy of discrimination.
He noted that legalized discrimination in FHA loans, for example, prevented Blacks from borrowing to purchase homes, leaving older Blacks with little accumulated wealth to pass down to generations.
He also pointed out that many African Americans continue to attend inferior, segregated schools, to live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and to grow up in single-parent households, all of which are connected to some degree to discrimination.
"We're over-represented on the football field and basketball court but not where it counts," said Curry, who benefited from affirmative action as a first-generation college graduate.
Affirmative action proponents say Obama's campaign, which attempted to transcend race, is proof that the system is working and should not be dismantled.
"For the first time in the country's history we had two serious minority candidates run for president," Brandon Davis said of Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton. Davis is political director of the Missouri/Kansas State Council of the Service Employees International Union and spokesman for the WeCAN Coalition that opposed banning affirmative action programs in Missouri institutions.
Like Obama, Davis suggested that affirmative action programs should be expanded to include class.
Curry disagrees, asserting that the needs of poor Whites should be addressed through antipoverty measures. As the country moves toward multiculturalism, it would be in the best interest for corporations to hire non-Whites, Curry said.
According to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau, ethnic and racial minorities will comprise a majority of the nation's population by 2042.
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Michael Eby
posted 3/23/09 @ 9:39 PM EST
End discrimination. End Affirmative action. No further comment.
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