Page 6
^Inrtlauh (Dbseruer
May 21. 2014
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T he g > lorbünd leadm ?
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Backsliding on Education Equality
‘I feel
compelled
to respond’
B rianna M ontague
I believe that landm ark
S u p rem e C o u rt ru lin g s
like B row n v. B oard o f
E d u catio n gave m e a b e t
te r ch an ce to get a great
ed ucation and to reach
m y potential.
A nd I am very thankful for ev ery
thing C ivil R ights leaders acco m
p lish ed — big and sm all. T h eir
struggle m ade it easier fo r people o f
co lo r like m e to get equal access to
o p portunities and receive a hig h er
education. I have a b ach e lo r’s d e
gree in W o m e n ’s and G en d er S tu d
ies from D ePaul U niversity, an d I
attended a relatively integrated high
school in a resp ected d istrict in
M aryland.
So, im ag in e m y surprise and a n
g er w hen the S uprem e C o u rt upheld
M ich ig an ’s affirm ativ e action ban.
T he A pril 22 ruling d ealt w ith the
M ichigan Civil Rights Initiative (also
know n as Proposal 2), w hich passed
in 2006. T h e p ro p o sal ch an g e d
M ich ig an ’s co n stitu tio n to m ake
affirm ativ e action illegal in public
by
em ploym ent, education, and co n
tracting.
In 2012, the case w as appealed,
and the v oter-approved am endm ent
w as ru led u n co n stitu tio n al fo r a
s h o rt tim e . T h e S u p re m e
C o u rt’s 6-2 ruling u pheld the
ban.
T he im plications are om i
n o u s b e c a u s e th e U n ite d
States still has a segregation
problem.
It is ev id en t in the d isp ro
portionate closing o f K -12 public
schools that serve black c o m m u n i
ties. It is n ’t fair to p unish children
for p o o r tests scores and building
violations w hen the cities and co u n
ties w here they live should address
these problem s.
It is evident w hen y ou lo o k at
w hat happened w hen the Suprem e
C o u rt struck dow n part o f the V o t
ing R ights A ct o f 1965. A fter the
d e c is io n w as m a d e , T e x a s a n
nounced that a p reviously blocked
vo ter ID law w o u ld go into effect
im m ediately. T h at state’s au th o ri
ties also declared that any future
redistricting o f T exan electoral d is
tricts w ould no lo n g er require fed
eral approval.
It is evident w hen you look at the
backsliding w e’ve faced. In the 1970s,
black enrollm ent was very low at the
U niversity o f M ichigan-A nn Arbor,
at around 3.8 percent. D uring that
time, protesters called for 10 percent
black enrollment, effectively dem and
ing affirm ative action. A s a result,
black enrollm ent rose to 9 percent by
the m id-1990s, until a w hite fem ale
student sued the U niversity for “ra
cial discrim ination.”
N ow , the num bers h o v er betw een
4 and 5 percent, figures w ith d e
pressing sim ilarity to the 1970s. T he
thought that this ban co u ld spark a
spiral dropping below 3.8 percent is
alarm ing but possible.
M o d em racism in the U nited
States has a different twist. M any
A m ericans believe w e have attained
racial equality due to the rise o f celeb
rities, like O prah W infrey, and politi
cians, like President B arack Obama.
H ow ever, the goal o f affirm ative
action w as n ev er to ju s t have a few
black people attain positions o f great
pow er.
A ffirm ative action has alw ays
been about helping m inorities a c
cess publicly funded schools and
get jo b s w ithout being d iscrim i
nated against fo r their race, national
origin, o r ethnicity.
C urrently, around 4 0 percent o f
w hite people ages 25-29 graduate
from college, com pared w ith 15 p er
A frican A m erican s. T h e U n ited
States w o n ’t d eliv er equal o p p o rtu
nities to p eo p le o f co lo r if other
states follow in M ich ig an ’s fo o t
ste p s.
A lr e a d y C a l if o r n ia , T e x a s ,
Florida, and W ash in gton have all
had som e k in d o f ban on affirm ative
action in th eir states w ith m ajo r gaps
in m inority rep resen tation in public
in stitu tio n s.
If you truly b eliev e o u r nation
should aim fo r authentic equality,
ch eck ou t y o u r sta te ’s affirm ative
action law s. F ind ou t w hether they
have affirm ativ e action bans o r if
any are p ending. C o n tact y o u r local
and state rep resen tatives and get
involved in efforts to m aintain affir
m ative action in ed u cation, go v ern
m ent em p lo y m en t, and contracts.
In short, speak up and m ake y o u r
self heard.
A s a black w om an arm ed w ith a
b ach elo r’s degree, I feel c o m pelled
to respond. A s the poet and activist
A udre Lorde once said, “I have com e
to believe o v er and o v er again that
w hat is m ost im portant to m e m ust
be spoken, m ade verbal and shared,
even at the risk o f h aving it bruised
o r m isu n d ersto o d .”
Brianna Montague is an Insti
tute for Policy Studies intern and a
cen t for L atinos and 23 percent for graduate o f DePaul University.