Update II (4/7): Hube at Colossus of Rhodey blogs about the “disparate impact” theory.
Read more about disparate impact at Firehouse Diversity.
Update: Another city lowers police hiring standards for blacks and Hispanics; another win for “equality.”
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I’ve blogged about the Michigan Civil Right Initiative (MCRI) several times at LBC, and I’m pleased to report good news. The MCRI, the ballot initiative to end skin color and sex preferences in public hiring and admissions in Michigan, will appear on the November ballot. (Lansing State Journal photo)
Last week, the Michigan Supreme Court declined to review the opponents’ appeal.
For some reason, liberals in Michigan don’t want the people to vote on this matter, so they tried to keep it off the ballot, to no avail. A pro-skin color discrimination group called Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) led the failed charge. You may download the court’s order here (PDF).
Ward Connerly organized the drive to end preferences in Michigan several years ago. I reviewed his autobiography in 2004, and I highly recommend it. Also highly recommended is one of my favorite blogs, Discriminations, written by John Rosenberg. He blogged about the recent victory for MCRI here and here.
Karen at Spunky Homeschool blogs about homeschooling mother Barbara Grutter, who was the plaintiff in a Supreme Court case on race preferences.
(Hat tip: Chetly Zarko, who also has a video documenting BAMN’s violence.)
[Side note: The Booker T. Washington conference was sort of emotional for me. I'll blog about it soon.]
The following was posted last year under the title “Good” Discrimination:
***
Just like any member of the human race, blacks can be quite hypocritical. Back in the day when skin color discrimination harmed blacks, they righteously rebelled against it. Today, skin color discrimination benefits blacks, and they hypocritically embrace it and demand even more. David Gelernter calls affirmative action “good cheating.”
In practice, affirmative action means cheating in a good cause. (But all cheating, for any cause, gnaws at a nation’s moral innards like termites.) Affirmative action means a plus factor in university admissions, job hiring and promotion for candidates from protected groups, in the interests of “diversity.” (But why should “diversity” mean official “minorities” and women but not libertarians, farmers, Mormons, Texans, children of soldiers, aspiring Catholic priests, etc.?)Affirmative action is highly unpopular: A 2003 Washington Post-Harvard-Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 92% of the public (86% of blacks) agreed that admissions, hiring and promotion decisions “should be based strictly on merit and qualifications other than race/ethnicity.” Only bureaucrats and intellectuals (species that are more closely related than they seem) love affirmative action.
Is it really “cheating”? In 2003, Linda Chavez, the head of the Center for Equal Opportunity, described University of Michigan freshman admissions as they stood in the mid-1990s: “We found that the odds ratio favoring admission of a black applicant with identical grades and test scores to a white applicant was 174 to 1.” The high court struck down that admissions procedure, but it’s a frightening reminder of what people can do in the name of fairness. (Source)
So if affirmative action is so unpopular, why does it exist? In theory, most people believe in merit-based gain. But in practice, we want more than we have, and we falsely believe we deserve what others have.
Diversity, a word white liberals use for political leverage, is one reason why individuals will never be truly equal to other individuals. We are of diverse ideas (some ideas are better than others), talent, skill, motivation, and drive. The irony is lost on most.
A gotta-get-mine attitude is simply a natural manifestation of our fallen nature, which means we all possess it at various times about certain things. But when blacks chose to embrace race-based privileges to “get theirs,” all semblance of pride and dignity was lost for generations, and the history of the Civil Rights struggle was turned on its head.
I can say with 99.9 percent certainty that those who endured billy club beatings, lynchings, fire hose spray, and dog bites didn’t do it so that one day their children and grandchildren could be deemed pitiable, too inferior for equal treatment, and too dumb to strive for the American dream on their own merits.
With black complicity, misguided white social engineers bearing unwarranted guilt created social policies that will continue to stifle our achievement through the use of lowered standards for generations to come.
And black liberals call me a sell-out?
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Thanks for blogging about the Michigan Inititiative. One of the plaintiffs in the case that went to the Supreme Court is a homeschooling mother and friend of mine. She has been tirelessly working to get this initiative on the ballot. It’s time has definitely come.
Great post LaShawn. It’s always amazed me how this blatent racism continues to exist. You know very well that I am much closer to being a liberal than a conservative, but I have never supported affirmative action or quotas of any type no matter who they favor.
It would be a nice feeling to go for a job interview and know that the decision was based solely on my education, experience, skills, etc. rather than wondering if they already had enough minorities in the right positions.
Wow, in Michigan of all places…a tough place for any race where auto companies are going under, etc. and unemployment is high. Life is harder there for the average American, even white. If I was a resident, I wonder what I would do? Illinois and Wisconsin are both close and both have a brighter economic future. Maybe I’d move to where the jobs are. Maybe I’d have to work two jobs to even make enough money to move, but I’d consider it. Here is an example of what happens when an economy goes south and the majority of people are affected, not just people of color. It is a test of the survival of the fittest, or who will do whatever it takes…
Great post La Shawn.
I know this is unrelated, but this Reuters article is just too funny. I thought you might get a kick out of it: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/04/04/jesus.science.reut/index.html
Here’s a minority no one ever mentions: Messianic Jews.
Will we ever get to the day that the person most qualified for the position, whatever it is, gets it?
Thanks for writing about this –
Many years ago, when I was a department manager for a large corporation, I was interviewing people for the job of assistant manager.
Out of 7 or 8 candidates, one was black. The pressure to hire the black candidate was immense. “Feather in our cap” and “that would really make us look good” were the typical shallow comments coming to me from various corporate types.
I bucked the pressure and I didn’t hire him. Why? Because even though he was more qualified than half the field, he was less qualified than my ultimate choice. And my duty was to get the best person to fill the job.
The black job candidate went on to a good supervisory job in another department, and based upon his particular skills and experience he did well there, making more money than my job paid. He accomplished that through his own hard work and self-confidence.
I, on the other hand, was ostracized for “not being a team player” and for “not helping reach the quota” and a few other disgusting comments. In other words, I was in trouble for hiring the best man for the job. I quit the company soon after, having had about enough of corporate PC phonyness.
The illegitimacy of affirmative action is becoming more clear to me every passing day. Not only does it harm the individual, but it undermines the country by devaluing excellence.
It’s a sad day in American when the children of the civil rights movement honor the struggle for full participation by settling to “just get paid.”
I taught in the English department at the University of Michigan for two years under the old point system whereby black undergraduate applicants received 20 points toward admission based on their race. In each of my sections of about 20 students, the 2-3 black students were commonly the lowest students in the class. Time after time, I questioned whether I was a racist teacher because the performance of the black students was lower than white students. I hope this phenomenon was a result of racial preferences in admissions, but I lost a lot of sleep over it. Any insecurities my black students may have had was certainly exacerbated by being put in an academic environment they were not prepared for.
La Shawn knows I speak my mind so, here goes…
Anyone that even THINKS that lowering standards, for ANYTHING, is a good plan needs to have their head examined…
Lower standards?? Hell, we need to RAISE the standards for everything…
From MY area of expertise: here in this area, to be a cop on the Dallas PD, you have to have a degree in SOMETHING… Some of the surrounding Dept’s require at least 60 hrs, an A.D., as the minimum and preferably in Criminal Justice…
I don’t care if you’re white, black or purple with red polka dots, if you’re not good enough, you’re not good enough, no matter WHAT the job is… Why should someone else be placing themselves in danger due to your incompetence or having to take up your slack because you’re just not good enough to get the job done??
People ‘preach’ about the values of ‘equality’, and turn around and ask for standards to be lowered??
Can you say “HYPOCRITE”??
End of rant…
This is fine and all, but we shouldn’t be one sided. White females benefit from Affirmative Action more than any group. And with just as much passion as we have for ending affirmative action, we should address findings such as Northwestern University sociologist,Devan Pager, sending equally matched pairs of testers – two black and two white – to apply for low-skilled jobs at 350 places of employment in the Milwaukee area and founding that white ex-offenders were more likely to be called back for an interview than black applicants who had no criminal record.
Shade,
Fox or UPN 9 news did a little experiment here about a year or so ago where they sent identical resumes to various employers and gave one of the resumes a name like “Tina” (or and another that type of name) one a name like Shaquisha (or something ghetto like that. ) “Tina” got calls for an interview and “Shaquisha” didn’t. Then sent resumes with “normal” names and got staffers or actresses to pose as the individuals on the resume. Both got called in for interviews but the black interviewee was treated different and never offered a job. When confronted the employers said that black applicant wasn’t qualified, even through the resumes were exactly the same in their qualifications and both the white and black posers had been given a simular script for their interview.
I’ve heard of people repeating this same experiment. Marianne Bertrand of the University of Chicago did one based on just names and found a 50 percent advantage in interview rate based on a white sounding name versus a black sounding name. Kristen, Carrie, and Laurie versus Aisha, Tanisha, and Lakisha.
no wonder it was so hard for me to find a job, with a name like Zakia
Or maybe because I don’t check my spelling when I rush to post.
I haven’t done the research, but I can see how situations in comments 13 and 14 could be happening in some places. However, I still would say the answer is not to lower standards and force companies to hire a certain number of people based on race/gender rather than qualifications. A much better solution is working to expose and punish individuals and companies who are discriminatory in their hiring practices. The current “solution” will never “solve” anything.
Zakia
I don’t know if it has been discussed here or not or if she minds discussing it, but “LaShawn” is definitely a stereotypical black American name. If LaShawn doesn’t mind me asking, I’m wondering she has felt or experienced any negativity related to her name? Just curious.
A much better solution is working to expose and punish individuals and companies who are discriminatory in their hiring practices.
I agree with this, but the biggest problem with this is that folks who attempt such exposure are prone to being called race baiters or accused of playing the race card.
I have a dream of a country that doesn’t pay attention to the color of an applicant’s skin or a college student’s ethnic background. A country that doesn’t rely on past evils for present treatment, and does not have a class of people whose entire job is to foment racial tensions. I dream like Dr King of a world where a man is judged by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin.
#18: I’m agree 100%. I wish there was an easy, clear-cut solution, but there does not appear to be with this issue. There are too many people who feel that discrimination is the only solution for.. discrimination. I think that’s what has to change before anything else and that’s certainly not going to happen overnight.
#19: For once I agree with Christopher Taylor!
I have been thinking about this; here is an angle that you might not have thought about.
When LBJ launched the “Great Society,” it was in the wake of the Civil Rights movement. In reality, what he was trying to do, was make some form of restitution for the decades of Jim Crow, oppression under color of law, lynchings, along with all the other injustices experienced by blacks simply because they were black and whites wanted to “keep them in their place.” Major components of the program included enhanced Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), laws against housing discrimination, and Affirmative Action.
In other words, LBJ was trying to do what the Reparations movement now wants, provide restitution for the wrongs done to blacks. Unfortunately, he did not come right out and say so.
As a result, other groups, including, ironically, white women, who make up one of the largest beneficiaries of Affirmative Action, got added to the program. This changed the perception of Affirmative Action from being a program designed to enable blacks who had been unjustly hindered because whites wanted to keep them in their place into a progam which gave unfair preferences to others at the expense of white males.
If LBJ would have been clearer, and Congress would have kept Affirmative Action to its original purpose, it might be percieved differently, and it might have been able to be ended with much less rancor.
In a word, it was never intended for anyone other than blacks, and it was only intended to rectify injustices that were very recent at the time the Great Society was launched.
Think about it, La Shawn; doesn’t this give a different take to the whole issue? President Johnson was trying to right a grievous wrong which was fresh in the national psyche; he just didn’t present it clearly. It later got misused by others who were not intended to be involved in the program. It is now seen as a failure, but it did accomplish the purpose for which it was originally intended. I also have some thoughts about the Bakke decision, which helped move the changes in the public perception of Affirmative Action. Perhaps I’ll share them, if you like.
There is nothing new under the sun. I’ve blogged and written about the original intent of “affirmative action” many times, most recently here:
http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2005/09/20/repeating/ … and there’s no need to ask permission to share your opinion. The comment thread is open. – Admin
The solution is there, however it cannot be properly implemented until we, black people, stop legitimizing the stereotypes we are pinned with when we apply for job and college.
America is not a meritocracy. Never has been, and never will be. Patronage, fraternalism, cronyism, old boy networks and nepotism are the rules, and not the exceptions.
If the MCRI is passed, racial discrimination will still be every bit as rampant in Michigan, only then, the State of Michigan, and government agencies will not be allowed to use race as a factor in admissions, hiring, or contracts.
In other words, white employers in Michigan can still be every bit as discriminatory against African-Americans as Shade references in the Devah Pager studies:
White Felons have it better than Law Abiding Blacks in Hiring
Of course, while many are screaming about Affirmative Action being unfair and hurting ostensibly white American workers, American corporations are simply downsizing and outsourcing (or insourcing illegal aliens) hundreds of thousands of jobs, anyway.
Couple this with the type of “Affirmative Action” some on the other side don’t really complain about–institutional racism, an outsider might look at our country and think America has enacted SANCTIONS on black people.
–Cobra
Good to see you again, Cobra. I’ve been missing your posts, particularly the ones that lump all companies together in the Mean, Racist and Exploitative Club.
Cobra does not share my dream.
To realize the dream, we need to acknowledge a truth. De facto racism, the hearts-and-minds stage we’re in now, is not going to be solved by affirmative action nor by any other similar agenda. Throwing one form of racism at another form of racism, and expecting a positive outcome, is just silly.
I disagree with the premise that blacks are benefiting from affirmative action. Where are they? What industries have been adversely impacted. Where are the disproportionate numbers of blacks in corporate America? I’ve always said hirings have more to do with human nature than racism. It is not hard to believe only those with whom someone is comfortable with would be invited to the dinner table. Until their are more black captains of industry the landscape of corporate America will never change.
#28.. I work with several black beneficiaries of affirmative action in “corporate America”. 110% unqualified to do the job. I said so after looking at all the resumes and after personally interviewing them. Unfortunately I didn’t have the final say, I just have to take the blame for their mistakes and do the work they don’t know how to do.
Redbeard writes:
>>>”I’ve been missing your posts, particularly the ones that lump all companies together in the Mean, Racist and Exploitative Club.”
Hi Redbeard!
Now, far be it from me to smear ALL companies. I’m just smearing the “Mean, Racist and Exploitative” ones. You do admit they exist, don’t you? And do you HONESTLY believe that left to their own devices, these corporate spiders are going to “judge people based upon merit, with no regard to race, ethnicity or gender?”
I’ve got some South Pole beach barbecue tickets to sell you if you believe that one.
Christopher Taylor writes:
>>>”Cobra does not share my dream.”
Maybe, maybe not. But we DO share a reality that people who dream like that, and dare speak out about it in public, can get harrassed, illegally wire-tapped, falsely imprisoned, threatened with blackmail and even murdered.
But hey, if things were different it just wouldn’t feel like America!
–Cobra
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