Affirmative Action Information Center

Commentary

“A Poison Divides Us” – An interview with Ward Connerly, author of California’s Proposition 209, in which Connerly explains his belief that affirmative action is damaging, March 27, 2000

“On Flattering Minorities” – affirmative action does minorities no favor, says Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe, March 19, 2004

“Affirmative Action and Disidentification” – Seattle Times op-ed by by Kenneth Einar Himma, June 26, 1998

“Affirmative Action Works!” – pro-affirmative action article from In Motion magazine, 1996

A Vision for America, Beyond Race – an essay by Ward Connerly in the Heartland Institute’s Intellectual Ammunition magazine – November/December 2000

Affirmative Action Hurts Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Project 21 New Visions Commentary by Sean Turner, August 2003

Jim Crow’s New Face – Project 21 New Visions Commentary by La Shawn Barber, September 2003

“Multicultural Mental Health: Does your Skin Color Matter More than your Mind?” – by Sally Satel, M.D. and Greg Forster, Center for Equal Opportunity, 1999

Project 21 Press Release – Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decision: Black Network Criticizes Muddled Ruling – June 2003

“Preferred Future: Will “Diversity” Become America’s New Civic Religion?” – John O’Sullivan, editor at large, National Review Online, January 28, 2002

Diversity By Design Hurtful to Minorities, and the Supreme Court Isn’t Easing the Pain – Project 21 New Visions Commentary by by Donald E. Scoggins, June 2003

“Michigan’s Supreme Problem” – The law plainly tilts against the University of Michigan’s race-conscious admissions policy, says Terry Eastland in both the Dallas Morning News and the Weekly Standard, December 2002

“On Affirmative Action, Liberals Promote Fear Over Progress” – Project 21 New Visions Commentary by Ak’bar Shabazz, January 2003

The Mixed Blessing of Affirmative Action – Project 21 New Visions Commentary by Matthew Craig, September 2003

“W.’s ‘Read My Lips’: The Administration Might as Well do the Right Thing on Adarand” – Roger Clegg, National Review Online, August 6, 2001

“The Other Candidate” – Ben Jackson, Chronicle of Higher Education, July 2, 2003

“No Compelling Interest: Awarding Federal Contracts Based on Race or Ethnicity is Unconstitutional” – by Roger Clegg, National Review Online, May 25, 2001

“Rule of Law Trumps Racial Preferences” – by Edward J. Erler, senior fellow – The Claremont Institute, 2002

“Equal Opportunity Denied” – by Tom McClintock and Steven McCarthy, The Claremont Institute, April 29, 1996

“Reforming Affirmative Action in Employment: How to Restore the Law of Equal Treatment” – by Nelson Lund, The Heritage Foundation, August 2, 1995

“The Future of Affirmative Action” – by Susan Sturm and Lani Guinier, Boston Review, January, 2001

“The Affirmative Action Debate” – by William A. Galston, Wall Street Journal, August 2, 1995

“Race and Affirmative Action” – an interview with Glenn Loury, Professor from Harvard University, 1985

“Students Discuss Court Case, Sense Overall Approval” – by Michigan Daily staff reporter Shoshana Hurand, May 15, 2002

“One Step Forward, Two Steps Bakke” – by Ann D. Springer, American Association of University Professors, April, 2001

“Bakke – Still Breathing, but Barely” – by Jonathan R. Alger, American Association of University Professors, February, 1998

“On Affirmative Action” – by Scott W. Williams, Professor of Mathematics at SUNY University in Buffalo, May 10, 1996

“Ten Myths About Affirmative Action” – by S. Plous, Journal of Social Issues, Winter, 1996 (PDF download)

“African-Americans Lose When Affirmative Action is Extended to Immigrants!” – by Dr. Frank Morris, dean of graduate studies, Morgan State University, September 1, 1995

A Citizen’s Guide to the Affirmative Action Debate – written to inform voters during California’s Proposition 209 debate by Douglas A. Jeffrey and Brian T. Kennedy of The Claremont Institute, 1997

The Forgotten Teachings of Martin Luther King – MLK quotes on affirmative action and related topics, collected by In Motion magazine, which supports affirmative action

Articles on affirmative action from major newspapers and think tanks succinctly summarized by the conservative National Center for Policy Analysis

Popular Opposition a Myth – Commentary from the liberal media watchdog FAIR that says that the demise of affirmative action is a myth – May/June 1998

“Affirmative Action Can’t Be Mended” – by Dr. Walter Williams, the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, from the Cato Journal

Affirmative Action Harms Black Colleges – Emmett Hogan of the Dartmouth Review explains how affirmative action harms colleges strongly associated with black heritage – May 7, 2001

Golf Lesson – William Raspberry column that uses the U.S. Supreme Court case of Casey Martin versus the PGA to discuss affirmative action – June 4, 2001

The Origins of Affirmative Action – Article about the origins of affirmative action from the liberal National Organization for Women, containing legal links – 1995

Justices Won’t Review Affirmative Action Case – A Washington Post article about the Supreme Court’s decision not to review an appeals court decision that upheld the use of race as an admissions factor at the University of Washington law school – May 30, 2001

Columnist Michelle Malkin explains why she refuses to join race-based journalism associations – July 14, 1999

“A Better Path to Diversity” – opinion column by the editorial staff of the Christian Science Monitor, saying that the post-Proposition 209 minority enrollment in the university of California system is up since 1997 – April 11, 2000

An index of current essays from The Atlantic Monthly magazine that address racial issues

“Affirmative Action: Roots to Success” – pro-affirmative action editorial from the Los Angeles Times, by John Hill, an affirmative action compliance officer – March 13, 1997

“Should Diversity in Higher Education Be Determined by Politics?” – “The problem is that the fate of this policy, which stands to affect so many, very soon, seems destined to be decided by cross-party bickering rather than reasoned debate.” – Time article by Michael Eskenazi – April 17, 2000

“Jeb Bush’s College Try” – April 17, 2000 – “These are the problems involved in the social engineering of ‘diversity,’ as opposed to maintaining standards and spending whatever it costs to help all students prepare to meet them.” – U.S. News and World Report opinion column by John Leo

“In Recent Diversity Case, First Step is to Improve Schools” – opinion column by Clarence Page – March 23, 2000 – “…the best way to maintain diversity is by offering schools that are attractive to everyone and not by trying to hold students captive when their parents want them to transfer elsewhere.”

“Mixed-Race Designations Important to Census” – opinion column by Clarence Page – March 16, 2000

“New Ways to Racial Peace” – opinion column by the editorial staff of the Christian Science Monitor – December 1, 1999

“Scoring the SATs – the Givers, not Takers” – opinion column by Linda Chavez – Article against the proposal to give minorities/disadvantaged groups extra points on SAT tests – September 9, 1999

“The ‘New Segregationism'” – opinion column by Tony Snow – “Unfortunately, the message hasn’t filtered into educational and governmental offices. Today, in cathedrals of learning and citadels of power, our leaders unwittingly mimic their Deep South predecessors. They spend their days conjuring up scapegoats so they won’t have to confess that the old ways (such as quotas, welfare and race norming) are an indefensible failure. ” – August 23, 1999

“Regarding Affirmative Action: It’s Higher Standards, Higher Expectation that Guarantee a Better Future” – A New Visions commentary by Faye Anderson

“Succeeding American-Style” – A New Visions Commentary by Project 21 member and former Black Panther James Coleman

Senate Puts Black Arkansas Jurist at the Back of the Bus – A New Visions Commentary by David Almasi – May 2002

Jeffersonian Perspective – Affirmative Rights – Affirmative action interpreted with a look at the writings of Thomas Jefferson – 1999

“Does Speaker Gingrich Lack the Courage To Eliminate Racial Preferences” – National Policy Analysis #167 by Ryan Sager

“Top Ten Acts of The Clinton Administration To Divide Americans By Race and Ethnicity” – National Policy Analysis #163 by Arturo Silva, Project 21 (June, 1997)

“Affirmative Action or Equal Opportunity?” – by Professor Ralph R. Reiland (Regulation magazine)

After Proposition 209: Addressing the Fundamental Issues of Educational Inequity – speech by University of California at Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl about how the UC system will deal with the end of affirmative action programs with the passage of Proposition 209

NOW and Affirmative Action – the views of the National Organization for Women

Bakke and Beyond: A Study of Racial and Gender Preferences in California Public Higher Education — by Victor A. Walsh and Thomas E. Wood (California Association of Scholars)

“5 White Guys Sitting Around Talking” – May 1996 – an interview with five white males; topic: reverse discrimination

Legislation

Affirmative Action Employment Laws, courtesy of Looksmart, with links to several websites

From the 105th Congress: “The Civil Rights Act of 1997” – “A bill to provide for equal protection of the law and to prohibit discrimination and preferential treatment on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex in Federal actions, and for other purposes.” The legislation was not approved by Congress.

Link to text and status of House version, H.R. 1909 (sponsored by Representative Charles Canady (R-FL).

Link to text and status of Senate version, S. 950 (sponsored by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Proposition 209 — The California ballot initiative that passed in 1996, to “eliminate state and local government affirmative action programs in the areas of public employment, public education, and public contracting to the extent these programs involve ‘preferential treatment’ based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin”

Report by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office on Proposition 209 – the state government explains Proposition 209.

Litigation

Grutter v. Bollinger (this case pertains to the firing of a white New Jersey teacher)

Piscataway School Board v. Taxman (this case pertains to two New Jersey teachers competing for a position that was awarded to the minority applicant)

University of California Regents v. Bakke — The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in the landmark 1978 racial preference case involving student admissions

Adarand Construction v. Pena — The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in the 1995 racial preference case involving the award of government contracts

Hopwood v. State of Texas — Materials relating to a case involving student admissions. With the lower court ruling against racial preferences, the U.S. Supreme Court denied to hear the case — letting the lower court’s position stand.

Brown v. Board of Education — Opinion in the landmark civil rights case of 1954

Links

“Yahoo!” news search of the latest news available on the topic of affirmative action

“Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary” ­ a stridently pro-affirmative action-sponsored newsite

A site that refutes the need for affirmative action, backed with empirical data to support its position

Americans Against Discrimination and Preferences — a very informative site maintained by the authors of California’s Proposition 209, containing news article, legal and initiative archives.

Center for Equal Opportunity (Among other things, this site allows you to determine the probability of acceptance into three universities based on race and other characteristics) “Perversive Preferences: Interactive ‘Predictors'”

The American Association for Affirmative Action

The Feminist Majority Foundation’s Affirmative Action Information Center

Race, Gender, and Affirmative Action: A Resource Page for Teaching

AFL-CIO Affirmative Action Page

“Affirmative Reaction” – transcript of August 18, 1997 NewsHour – U.C. Berkeley opens its doors to 270 new law school students this year. Only one of them is African American. Is this proof that California’s ban on affirmative action hurts diversity? After this background report by Spencer Michels, Elizabeth Farnsworth leads a discussion.

Links to Affirmative Action websites from About.com

Californians Against Discrimination and Preferences — the official site of Proposition 209, containing updates on the implementation of the successful California initiative.

Campaign for a Color-Blind America — Organization “designed to challenge race-based public policies and educate the public about the injustices of racial preferences”

Project 21 — The national leadership network of conservative African-Americans.

Center for Individual Rights – A legal foundation that has been very active in opposing affirmative action laws.

American Civil Rights Coalition – a grassroots advocacy organization focused on the elimination of racial and gender preferences.

American Civil Rights Institute – includes research and speeches on civil rights on its website.

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights/Leadership Conference Education Fund – press releases and links, but little substantial commentary.

Adversity.net – A site created “for victims of preferential treatment.” Lots of links.