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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1995)
M EDITORIAL NAACP selects excellent leader Tho NAACP softiiu set to return to the civil rights debate after electing a new chairwoman over th«> week end. Myrllo Evers-Williams. tho widow of civil rights leader Metlgar Evers, was elected chairwoman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Saturday, replacing embattled chairman William Gibson. Evers-Williams, a resident of Hand. Ore , Is an exc el lent choice for the post Having seen firsthand tho harm that discrimination caused when her husband was mur dered during the civil rights struggle over 30 years ago. Evers Williams will bring a valuable perspective to the national organization that few others could. She will also help to attract attention to the c a use of civil rights in America When oUh ted. Evers-Williams stated that a goal of hers was to got the NAACP back into the civil rights debate With affirmative action being questioned by the now Congress in Washington, now is the time for the NAACP to have a stronger ami more vocal representation nation wide than over Evers-Williams has stated that she wants to he active in the fight against repealing affirmative action. She also stated that she wants to return the organiza tion to tho grassroots, the same people who started the organization and kept ft strong for almost 90 years. Unfortunately, civil rights questions have been over shadowed by alleged mismanagement of money in the NAACP over the past year. Gibson had been charged by some with misusing NAACP expense accounts and charging a number of limousine rides and hotel suites to the organization Although it is necessary for the group to investigate these charges, it is even more important that tho NAACP attempt to stay focused on the goal of fighting for civil rights The division continued when about 700 NAACP members passed a no-confidence motion expressing opposition to Gibson's continued leadership. It was clear that it was time for something to change at the NAACP The change came from Evers-Williams It is clear that, just like in tho civil rights struggle, division among people does more harm than good. With powerful leadership, Evers Williams is one person who can help bring the group back together again. The reasons Evers-Williams belongs on the NAACP are clearly stated by Evers-Williams herself. "I am here because 1 love the NAACP. I believe it must survive. I believe it must thrive.'* she said. “Duty beckons me. 1 am strong. Test mo and you will see." Hopefully the NAACP wiii take her up on her offer and restore the group to its position of greatness, con tinuing to work for civil rights throughout the country. It's what the NAACP does Iwist. and it’s what the coun try needs now. Myrlie Evers-Williams will help the group deliver. Oregon Daily Emerald *>o 1*0« m* tu&iht Th# Oregon (My t «ft put**n«d d**y Monday l*vougb f rxJiv during m# school vner ard t >***.**> and Ihursney dura frw v^ by »n# Oregon D**y t mwaft Pubksfra Co . he aJ Unresrstfy ol Ow^1 f t*gene. Oruon TH« f *>*r»kf OQmt&'.m <ndapend*nf*y o* Urvv«K*»ty *4* oft< ©# «! SoAe 300 ffx# I ft) Memory# l>n»on *f*11» * mem*** o* ffw A.mck.mi’.wI Pr*tft TNi f % prtvst* property The untawM '«m<?rg or uM a* f.»4ps** ts prosecuta&e by or* I cJHof in Chief K#y Soto Men sgtng Editor David Thorn Now* Editor fWmu Editorial Editor Robb* rt Sports Editor Cv>? 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Graham Sampson Buimess Kathy Carbon# Supertaeor Judy ConnoAy Production; 0«*>*a McCodb Production CoonAnafcv Shawrva Abe*# T»a Gau-*n#> Brad Jos*. Mb«y McCenta. Jennrier MxarvJ. Ctayton Yen Newsroom >46-5311 Display Advertising >46-3712 Business Office >46-3312 Classified Advertising >46-4343 “ ( THE OLD CR1MF. BILL PROPOSAL r <>H? So*K»rs BREAKING INTO m HOUSE D WEU ftNP ONt *OWNEWHI RED POLICE OFFICERS RiG«T OVER i CKimE wu PROPOSAL 911? SoM*o«n BREAK INC fNTO my HOUSE wtu Senp a BLOCK GRANT RIGHT OfJ?... ■ OPINION Racism wrong in all instances ...■I * ■■■k k i Briw Womack Something in (hi* country is very wrong People are being judged not by their latent or skills, but bv their gen der or color of skin These victims of disi riminn tion are becoming more and more resentful toward the peo ple that judge these criteria This rampant duw rimination I sjHvik of is. of course, affirmative action Minorities and women in this country are being hired ahead of equally or more qualified white males simply be< ause a quota must lw filled Americans aren't entirely flop py about it either In a r/me/CNN poll of H00 adults taken last month. 77 per cent of whites thought affirma tive action sometimes or fre quentiy discriminates against whites Kven among blacks polled, 66 percent answered the same wav In a survey taken by the LA Timex in late January. 39 per cent of respondents said affir mative action programs have "gone too far." This is up dra matically from the 24 percent who had the same opinion a mere three and half years ago Hob Dole has recently ques tioned the very reasoning of affirmative action Possibly hint ing at the second 100 days of the Republican reign in Congress, he said. "Should future genera tions have fo pay for that ? Some would say ves I think it's a tough question." Why have these feelings grown to such a degree? A good example comes from the newspaper industry where white men are purposefully not being hired The following three examples are from an article published in the November 1993 American /oumalism Review In 1990, at the Dalitjs Morning News. Kevin Merida leapfrogged ovt>r whit*' staff workers who had been editing his copy to become their boss. Another case involved n white male editor in his mid-forties with 10 years at a California (taper who s}«*nt a year ac ting as stale editor while lobbying for the position to become perma nent Instead, a Hispanic woman from another newspaper was named to the job of state editor with no editing experience. IA Times Washington bureau chief Jat k Nelson was quoted as saving, "We don't want to bring any more white males into the bureau In the interest of more "diversity," he says he must hire in this manner The biggest problems with these stories and others similar to it is that the relationship between races is not helped, but strained It doesn't make co-workers happy if they're leapfrogged for a job simply because they aren’t African-American It causes resentment White students who get the same sc ore on their SAT's as Hispanic s but don't get into a highly-rated college will be resentful as well. These building feelings of resentment will only roll back the progress we've made in race relations. As Bemie Richter, a California state legislator said, "When you deny someone who has earned it and give to someone else who has not earned it... you create anger and resentment." Another fruit of this affirma tive action tree is the suspicion white males will have toward women and minorities In the bac k of their mind is the nagging question of, "Did that person get that job because they were really that good, or was it because the person Tilled a quota i1' This also punishes those minorities who don't need affir mative ac tion to get ahead in the job or college markets. Their tal ents and skills might be belittled because now they're put into the same boat of those who needed a quota to get ahead. Sometimes affirmative action can cause the absurd — minori ties are actually punished. It makes us wonder why we instituted affirmative action. The reason was, as Dole said, to "right" past wrongs. There were clearly times in the nation when racism kept many minorities from having a good chance at getting the job they actually wanted. It exists, of course, to a lesser extent today, too. Vet we must remember all cases of minorities not being hired are not necessarily cases of racism; in some cases, they are simply not qualified. With the black middle class growing substantially over the last two decades, one has to ask if punishing present generations for past wrongs is really pru dent. The logical end of affirmative action should be when rac ism is no longer a problem in America. Hut affirmative action will never bring us c:loser to that day, but farther from it because it is grounded in racism. Color should not be the litmus test in hiring or for college acceptance, Martin Luther King Jr made the best argument for this when he said. “I have a dream that my four itttle children will one day not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream ..." Brian Womack is a columnist for the Emerald. ■ COMMENTARY POLICY I h<* Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes commentaries from the publn concerning topics of interns! to the University com munity. Commentaries should be between 600 and H00 words, legi ble. signed and the identification of the w'riter must ire verified when the letter is submitted 1 he Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style.
