Commentary by Black Kos Editor, Deoliver47
We still need affirmative action
Browsing through the pages of history, I noticed that this week, is the anniversary of what came to be known as the "The Bakke Decision", handed down by the Supreme Court on June 28, 1978.
The Supremes ruled that strict racial quotas that guaranteed access and opportunity to blacks, women, and other minorities in education and industry were unconstitutional, but
Justices Brennan, White, Marshall and Blackman concluded in one plurality opinion that race could be used as a factor when it was for the purpose of remedying substantial chronic underrepresentation of certain minorities in the medical profession.
Activists then, and now felt the decision, in favor of Bakke failed to address the history in this country of systemic discrimination.
Out of the debate that swirled around the issue of affirmative action, grew the right wing meme of "reverse discrimination", which sadly I have seen used here on a Democratic blog. In a time where the vocal racist right is pushing an all out attack against ethnic studies in states like Arizona, re-writing and whitewashing history in textbooks in Texas, and increasing the volume of racist rhetoric in the streets and halls of Congress and state legislatures, we need to assess how far as progressives we have "backslid" and where we need to push harder to move forward.
We actually use a system of negative-affirmative action each day in the US. If you are black or brown or red you will affirmatively be selected to go to jail or prison in numbers well beyond your proportion in the population. You will affirmatively be poor. You will certainly be selected to be the target of police scrutiny. If you go to jail you will spend more time there than someone white. If convicted of a capital crime you will assuredly get the death penalty in states that still allow that barbaric practice. You win the lotto of your child dying at birth, or of dying early from preventable disease.
The irony of the outcry against affirmative action is that an entire generation of white males benefited from the largest program in history - the GI Bill after WW2 (see GI Bill: White male affirmative action program)
Some grassroots groups have continued the struggle and the fight for justice in Higher Education. One of them is BAMN (Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights by Any Means Necessary) whose fact sheet about affirmative action is worth reviewing here:
* Fact: The elimination of affirmative action programs leads to the resegregation of higher education.
In California and Texas, the elimination of affirmative action programs has had a devastating impact on the number of black, Latina/o, and Native American students. In 1996, prior to the recently reversed ban on affirmative action in the University of California (UC) system, the entering class of the UCLA Law School included 10.3% black students. In 1999, the UCLA Law School used extensive minority outreach programs, "socioeconomic affirmative action", and a holistic admission review system to try to restore the proportion of underrepresented minority students at the law school. Despite these efforts, the 2000 entering class at the UCLA Law School consisted of only 1.4% black students; the class that graduated in the Spring of 2002 had only two black students.
In 1994-1996, 13 Filipino students were enrolled in UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall Law School. In 1996-2000, after the elimination of the law school's affirmative action program, only 3 Filipinos were enrolled at Boalt Hall. At the University of Texas Law School, Latino/a student enrollment has been cut in half since affirmative action programs were outlawed in 1995.
The number of women faculty has decreased by 22% throughout the UC system since the take-away of affirmative action.
* The elimination of affirmative action leads to resegregation.
* After the Hopwood decision overturned affirmative action at the University of Texas (UT), the number of black students at the UT Law School dropped from 65 in 1996 to 11 in 1997. Only 4 black students enrolled - in a first-year class of more than 400.
* At the University of Texas Law School, Latino/a student enrollment has been cut in half since affirmative action programs were outlawed in 1995.
* When the ban on affirmative action was implemented at the University of California (UC)-Berkeley law school, the number of black students admitted dropped from 75 in 1996 to 14 (out of 792 applicants) in 1997; none enrolled.
* In its first year without affirmative action, the UC-San Diego School of Medicine did not admit a single black applicant, of the 196 who applied.
* UC-Berkeley admitted 61% fewer minorities in 1998 - the year the state first implemented its ban on affirmative action at the undergraduate level. 800 black and other minority students with grade point averages of 4.0 and SAT scores of at least 1200 were denied admission to the 1998 freshman class.
Also worth reviewing is 13 Myths About Affirmative Action: A Special Series on a Public Policy Under Siege, a project produced by the African American Policy Forum.
Most importantly, grassroots efforts on the left need our support and active participation.
Contrary to the idea that right-wingers and Tea-baggers are all old and a dying breed, there are still plenty young racists waiting in the wings to continue the fight to maintain supremacy.
On my own campus at SUNY New Paltz, young campus Republicans organized an Affirmative Action Bake Sale, much to the distress of the majority of liberal students. Bogus "pimp" Jame's O'Keefe, of ACORN Hate fame, was one of the many organizers of those bake sales held on campuses across the US:
(hat tip to TPM)
The American Anthropological Association's online project on Race (which I recommend highly), documents
a timeline on Affirmative Action.
In 1961, President John Kennedy issued executive order 10925, which created the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and mandated that federally funded projects take "affirmative action" to insure that hiring and employment practices were free of racial bias. A few months after outlining the concept of affirmative action in a speech delivered at historically black Howard University, President Lyndon Johnson issued executive order 11246 in 1965, and established enforcement guidelines and documentation procedures for federal contractors. In 1967, the order was amended to cover gender discrimination. In 1969, then President Richard Nixon initiated the "Philadelphia Order", the most forceful plan to date to guarantee fair hiring practices in construction jobs, using the city’s craft trades as a test case.
Initially, civil rights laws had sought to right discriminatory wrongs. Equal opportunity was frequently seen as proportionate representation based on census data. Discrimination was not only found in the intentional act of a real estate agent or an employment office, it was also found in housing patterns and wage rates. However, in the decades that followed, affirmative action became synonymous with "reverse discrimination" as whites began to resent opportunities afforded nonwhites. In the late 1970s, the courts began to strike down affirmative action programs that were designed to give minorities an opportunity to compete for federal contracts, by challenging programs that utilized "quotas."
The change in the way affirmative action came to be viewed took a different tone in the courts. In discrimination lawsuits filed in the 1970s, racist intent was almost always denied by defendants. But the courts often relied on statistical patterns as evidence of discrimination. However, the standard for proving discrimination subsequently changed so that intent became the basis for determining discrimination. By the 1980s, the courts had so narrowly defined discrimination that the onus was on the victims of racial bias to prove the intent of employers and institutions that had exhibited racism in their policies and practices. Groups other than African Americans filed discrimination lawsuits on the basis of statistical proportionality: Hispanics, Asian, Native peoples, women, the handicapped. And in each instance, the census provided the basis to determine who was being given equal treatment and opportunity, and who was not.
The AAA also issued a recent statement on Arizona's new law:
"The AAA has a long and rich history of supporting policies that prohibit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion or sexual orientation, and of concern for the well-being of immigrant populations," AAA Executive Board Member Debra Martin said in a statement issued today. "Recent actions by the Arizona officials and law enforcement are not only discriminatory; they are also predatory and unconstitutional."
The AAA resolution pledges that the association as a whole will refuse to hold a scholarly conference in Arizona until SB 1070 is either repealed or struck down as constitutionally invalid. It makes an exception for conferences held on Indian reservations in Arizona.
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As an anthropologist I am proud of the progressive stance taken by members of my discipline on issues concerning race and racism. As progressives we should push all those associations and organizations we are a part of, to enact similar positions - whether around employment or the workplace, or in education, or social policy.
Our task is not completed.
Finger-pointing at minorities over campus admissions policies continue.
The "Blame Game" played by racists targeting victims of historic and present day discrimination in our society has effectively oozed into liberal and progressive discourse. You can hear it in our current immigration debates.
Stop the slime. Hate is a corrosive.
We have a collective responsibility as progressives to push our agenda forward and to reject the parroting of right wing language and memes.
House cleaning begins at home.
Let us all commit to take affirmative action against hate.
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Race Talk: Beyond good and evil: Blacks, ethics and the health care system.
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Springtime has many rites of passage attributed to it alone: garden parties, weddings and graduations, to name a few. As I reflected on these ideas.
I began to consider the spring season of 2009, and far less romantic notions. During last year’s spring, many American’s stood aghast as an unseasonable breakout of influenza ripped through the country. Health professionals and the general public scrambled to keep up with the recommends and precautions being issued via health-related government agencies like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and NIH (National Institute of Health).
Many of us living in large metro areas saw the health crisis began to hit home as both children and adults in these urban communities lost the struggle with a newly identified influenza, given the unusual moniker H1N1. We began to decline hugs and handshakes from one another and keep our children home, while witnessing school closures, dozens of surgically-masked people walking the streets, and hospital ER lines that wound around city blocks.
The predictions for the fall flu season were exceptionally grim, and the race to develop a vaccine against the H1N1 strain began in fervor. By October 2009, a vaccine was available, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identified high risk populations who should receive the vaccine. Urban populations, specifically African Americans, were encouraged to get the vaccine. To the bewilderment of the medical establishment, the Black community viewed the invitation with suspicion and doubt. Why, people wondered, after seeing the frenzied outbreak of this illness the previous spring, were Blacks now balking at receiving the vaccine designed to prevent it? One possible suggestion is the lack of confidence held by many in the African American community for the health care system.
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An African-American expert on HIV/AIDS outlines three steps for ending the epidemic in our communities. The Root: How to Stop the Black AIDS Crisis.
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There is an old saying: "Knowledge is power." True of many aspects of life, it is of paramount importance in facing the crisis of HIV/AIDS in the black community. As an African-American medical expert, I know that the single biggest factor fueling the AIDS epidemic in our community is that too many of us don't know our HIV status. This is despite the fact that today's HIV tests have never been more convenient, are often free and give results in as little as 10 minutes. On June 27, National HIV Testing Day, we have an excellent opportunity to close this life-threatening gap in our knowledge.
First a few basics about how HIV/AIDS is affecting our community: Of the 1.1 million Americans living with HIV today, more than 500,000 are black. We represent more than half of new HIV/AIDS cases in this country and account for more than half of AIDS-related deaths. Perhaps most alarmingly, 20 percent of African Americans with HIV do not know they are infected (pdf).
Despite these dire statistics, there is reason for hope -- because we have the power to change this picture. We should strive to reduce new HIV cases in our community and put the brakes on this epidemic. In my view, there are three concrete steps we can take to stop the black AIDS crisis.
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Thousands of jobs in Haiti will be created if project is approved. Black Enterprise: RLJ Companies Adds Partners in Haiti Housing Project.
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Bob Johnson, founder and chairman of The RLJ Companies, expects his latest partnership to help create "a vibrant middle class" in Haiti.
Johnson announced Wednesday that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) and Haiti-based WIN Group have joined with an RLJ-led partnership to build two structured insulated panel (SIP) manufacturing facilities that will provide construction materials for building housing and infrastructure in Haiti. At the request of the government agency that will approve the project, Johnson declined to disclose how much funding the project would need to be completed.
The deal would provide three things to earthquake-devastated Haiti, says Johnson: Technology would now be located in the country, Haitians would be trained to operate the facility, and most importantly, the plants would stimulate job creation spin-offs, which would significantly boost the economy in the long term. And ultimately, it would "create a growing and vibrant middle class."
Johnson said each of the factories would hire about 500 people to build the factories; then there will be ongoing operators of about 100 each to maintain the factories. "Thousands more people would be hired as we get more contracts to build more buildings," he said Thursday.
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Marcus Garvey must be smiling down from heaven. Uganda has invited thirteen Caribbean heads of state from to attend the African Union (AU) summit due to take place in Kampala in July. Afrik.com: Caribbean leaders join African Union meeting in Uganda
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51 heads of state from Africa have comfirmed that they will attend the summit.
According to Uganda’s minister of Foreign affairs, Sam Kutesa, the heads of state were invited because of their strong historical links to Africa.
"African Union has invited 13 leaders of Caribbean countries. AU has invited them because they are blacks and are very much interested in African affairs."
He said that Uganda government had at first not been informed about the invitation of the Caribbean leaders until only two weeks ago. "We have just started preparing for them. We did not have them on the list of those expected to attend the summit and had not prepared for them. We were only informed about their coming two weeks ago," Kutesa said.
The heads of government expected are from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent. They will join the 51 African heads of state for the summit.
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New York Times: Guineans Revel in Prospect of First Free Vote
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For days now, this tattered seaside capital — the site of a government massacre of civilians just nine months ago — has been giddy with anticipation of the country’s first-ever free elections after more than five decades of dictatorship.
Bands of supporters in their candidates’ T-shirts marched through the rutted streets, motorcades of partisans coursed down the avenues on beaten-up motorbikes and thousands of people crowded highway overpasses to greet presidential candidates noisily as they returned from final campaign trips for Sunday’s vote.
For the first time since this West African nation of 10 million gained independence in 1958, there is no occupant of power to manipulate the vote, and election observers say the military appears to be staying well clear of the electoral process on orders from the taciturn general, Sekouba Konaté, who has been leading the transitional government after deciding to give up control. With that, two generations of grim repression suddenly and unexpectedly gave way to something of a democratic free-for-all.
The candidates, all 24 of them, have been free to hold packed rallies without interference, and the faces of presidential hopefuls now beam from giant billboards all over town. Soldiers, omnipresent in Conakry in the past year, have barely been in evidence in recent days. They have been ordered to stay in their barracks during the voting, a military spokesman said.
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Mediaite: The White Stuff: Where Are The Black Faces on Cable News?
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In January 2009, I wrote a media predictions piece for the Daily Beast, writing: "If 2009 isn’t the year of the black media star, then we are all doing something wrong." Needless to say, it was not. Neither is 2010. In fact, with new shows being given to people like Eliot Spitzer, Kathleen Parker and Lawrence O’Donnell, it’s moving in the opposite direction.
Today I followed up with "The Unbearable Whiteness of Cable," writing:
Let’s review: Carlos Watson got a show briefly on MSNBC and was canceled, then disappeared from the network entirely; Roland Martin filled in for Campbell Brown on CNN for two months, then seemed to fade away as well. MSNBC’s Tamron Hall has been spotted doing fill-ins on the Today show, but when it comes to branded TV real estate, the 3 p.m. hour with David Shuster doesn’t quite measure up. Even NBC’s Christina Brown, who used to be featured on MSNBC’s First Look, was shelved for a Rachel Maddow rerun leading into Way Too Early with Willie Geist. It’s competitive out there, even at 5 a.m.
...Yes, there are regulars: Apart from straight news (CNN’s Don Lemon and Fredricka Whitfield, MSNBC’s Hall), there’s the aforementioned Robinson, a staple on Morning Joe, plus Jonathan Capeheart, Harold Ford, and, occasionally, NBC News VP Mark Whitaker. Brazile is on CNN, Gwen Ifill on PBS, and NPR’s Michele Norris on an ABC or NBC Sunday-morning roundtable here and there. Touré was briefly a regular on Dylan Ratigan’s show, and we’ll see John Ridley on Morning Joe when they’re out in L.A. And hey, MSNBC viewers do see Tom Joyner all the time, but that, alas, is in an ad for his show.
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Group is dedicated to helping women to re-define their power after leaving careers in corporate America. Black Electorate: Mocha Moms Are More Than Just Mothers.
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Mocha moms of the world unite; we are a movement transforming the home, marketplace and most importantly -- self. A mocha mom is a woman of color who has chosen to make parenting and family a priority. She may alter her career, work schedule, or eliminate working outside the home all together to focus on providing the best care for her children -- mother care.
And while there are many lower-case mocha moms, there is also the upper-case Mocha Moms Inc., an organization for women learning to re-define their power as it relates to family, community, and self through sisterhood upon leaving their successful careers in corporate America.
Recently I attended the Mocha Moms Inc., regional conference in Hartford, Connecticut. The energy of the congregation (nearly 100 attendees) was infectious, energetic, loving and practical.
President Dee Dee Jackson spoke openly with the moms about making self a priority, recognizing our power as influencers, getting healthy, becoming financially savvy, being a leader in the community, and encouraging one’s respective partner daily. "Mochas recognize the sacrifice your husband/mate has made for you to live the life you lead," said Jackson, who was a director for a national HMO before retiring to be home for her children and husband over 10 years ago.
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Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr. is among the celebrities and authors on hand at the fair, which featured fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children's literature by 150 African American writers.
LA Times: Leimert Park Village Book Fair draws crowds to cultural heart of black L.A.
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Strolling down an aisle with hands clasped behind his back at the fourth annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair, Otis Wright noticed significant changes in the event as it unfolded Saturday in a neighborhood known as the cultural heartbeat of black Los Angeles.
Like similar literary festivals across the nation, the fair featured fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children's literature by 150 African American writers, as well as readings, panel discussions and performances by singers, including a Lena Horne impersonator. The thousands of visitors who turned out had plenty of opportunities to meet authors and celebrities such as Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr.
But Wright, 72, a real estate broker and minister who has lived in the Leimert Park Village area for 55 years, was particularly pleased by what he described as "progress: more people, a younger crowd this year, and lots more children. I like that."
Nearby, 9-year-year-old Jada Salazar was exploring rows of long tables where dozens of independent authors were showing off their self-published efforts.
"It's so inspiring that as soon as I get home I am going to write something about it," said Salazar, vice president of the student body at Saturn Street Elementary School in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles. "I'm going to write about all the authors selling books and the people singing on stage."
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The Great Recession has hit us all hard. Dance is no exception. From Alvin Ailey to Dance Theatre of Harlem to Bill T. Jones, a look at how America's best black dance companies are faring in a tough economy. The Root: Dancing Through Tough Times
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You can find thrilling black dance companies in every part of the country, a fantastic improvement over the situation 50 years ago when dancers of color could hardly find a professional troupe to join. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Dance Theatre of Harlem started the revolution: The first was the triumph of choreographer Alvin Ailey in 1958, and the second was the hard-earned achievement of former New York City Ballet dancer Arthur Mitchell in 1969. But fate has not treated them equally. The Ailey company ranks as one of the most popular dance troupes in the world, with a touring schedule that matches that of any pop star. The Dance Theatre of Harlem, on the other hand, nearly went out of business in 2004, a victim of substantial debts and poor management. Its once-sparkling troupe disbanded, and its stellar school, as significant as a community center and as a ballet academy, almost closed. The main company has been sorely missed.
Judged by financial success and stability, they stand poles apart, but they both must now deal with a recession that is changing how this country supports the arts. They also both gained new leaders recently. The Ailey company named Robert Battle -- a dancer and choreographer who headed his own troupe, Battleworks -- as the replacement for artistic director Judith Jamison, who retires in 2011. DTH appointed Virginia Johnson, once the company's prima ballerina, and afterward editor of the ballet magazine Pointe, artistic director of that troupe in spring 2009. How these leaders and those of other black dance institutions deal with today's economic realities will affect our culture for decades to come.
Calling herself a born optimist, Johnson finds that the current cuts in government and private funding for dance creates an invigorating climate. ''When money is tight,'' she says, ''you have to be far more rigorous in evaluating and defending your needs. Funders want to know that their gifts are well spent. It strengthens your ability to make decisions. It makes you sharper about your goals. It's a far different world than the one in which I made my career as a dancer. I can feel a sense of nostalgia for that time, but I'm also excited to be back here, rebuilding the professional company for the 21st century. It brings out my dormant creativity.''
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Voices and Soul
by Justice Putnam
Black Kos Tuesday's Chile, Poetry Editor
Much has been written about Gwendolyn Brooks' poem, The Ballad of Rudolph Reed. It has been speculated that Brooks was condemning the reaction Reed took to the injury of his daughter by racists in his new neighborhood; that he was at fault for moving into a white enclave he should have been wise enough to avoid. Others have speculated that she was advocating his reaction and that he was justified in spite of the tragedies that followed.
Still others state that she was simply recording the facts.
I say it is none of these. I say that Brooks is showing that all reactions don't arise out of a vacuum; that for every action, there is indeed, a reaction. Whether the actions and/ or reactions are justified, is up for the reader to conclude.
What is certain is that a man and woman have a breaking point, no matter how oaken they may be; that a man and woman can only be pushed so far.
What is certain is that tragedy upon tragedy has been perpetuated on the Black in America; and any reaction, whether rioting in the streets or taking vengeance on the perpetuators of hate, arises not out of one instance that set the world ablaze; but many instances. What is certain is that few will remember or care what caused the reaction, save for those who reacted; and no bandage after the fact will lessen the pain of the tragedies that occurred; and are bound to occur later.
The Ballad of Rudolph Reed
Rudolph Reed was oaken.
His wife was oaken too.
And his two good girls and his good little man
Oakened as they grew.
"I am not hungry for berries.
I am not hungry for bread.
But hungry hungry for a house
Where at night a man in bed
"May never hear the plaster
Stir as if in pain.
May never hear the roaches
Falling like fat rain.
"Where never wife and children need
Go blinking through the gloom.
Where every room of many rooms
Will be full of room.
"Oh my home may have its east or west
Or north or south behind it.
All I know is I shall know it,
And fight for it when I find it."
The agent's steep and steady stare
Corroded to a grin.
Why you black old, tough old hell of a man,
Move your family in!
Nary a grin grinned Rudolph Reed,
Nary a curse cursed he,
But moved in his House. With his dark little wife,
And his dark little children three.
A neighbor would look, with a yawning eye
That squeezed into a slit.
But the Rudolph Reeds and children three
Were too joyous to notice it.
For were they not firm in a home of their own
With windows everywhere
And a beautiful banistered stair
And a front yard for flowers and a back for grass?
The first night, a rock, big as two fists.
The second, a rock big as three.
But nary a curse cursed Rudolph Reed.
(Though oaken as man could be.)
The third night, a silvery ring of glass.
Patience arched to endure,
But he looked, and lo! small Mabel's blood
Was staining her gaze so pure.
Then up did rise our Rudolph Reed
And pressed the hand of his wife,
And went to the door with a thirty-four
And a beastly butcher knife.
He ran like a mad thing into the night
And the words in his mouth were stinking.
By the time he had hurt his first white man
He was no longer thinking.
By the time he had hurt his fourth white man
Rudolph Reed was dead.
His neighbors gathered and kicked his corpse.
"Nigger--" his neighbors said.
Small Mabel whimpered all night long,
For calling herself the cause.
Her oak-eyed mother did no thing
But change the bloody gauze.
-- Gwendolyn Brooks
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The Front Porch is now open. Chocolate-chip cookies are cooling on the window-sill, along with a tray of pralines. Grab a snack, sit down and join us for community chat.
If you are new, introduce yourself..and welcome!
We are all family here.