Statement from LDF Director-Counsel and President Ted Shaw regarding Cantrell v. Granholm.

February 6, 2008
Statement from LDF Director-Counsel and President Ted Shaw regarding Cantrell v. Granholm.

On Wednesday, February 6, oral arguments were heard in Cantrell v. Granholm, a lawsuit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), the ACLU, and the Detroit State Conference of the NAACP challenging Proposal 2 in Michigan. Proposal 2 effectively denies access to higher education for people of color who are applying to the state's public universities. Unfortunately this is part of a national assault on efforts to provide access to higher education for students of color. "Proposal 2 is a wolf in sheep's clothing, cutting off the pathways towards a higher education for many students of color. As the Supreme Court held in Grutter, which upheld efforts to ensure equal opportunity at the University of Michigan: 'effective participation by members of all racial and ethnic groups in the civic life of our nation is essential if the dream of one nation, indivisible, is to be realized.' If left in place, Proposal 2 would curtail the participation of students in Michigan's institutions of higher education." "Some claim that we've moved beyond race in our nation, but this case is a stark reminder that issues of race still matter, especially when equal opportunity is not being afforded to all. Here, Proposal 2 fundamentally alters the structure of Michigan's political process so that the only way to achieve the 'dream of one nation, indivisible' in higher education is to amend the State's Constitution." "The Supreme Court has long held that such barriers violate the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the laws. The Court should uphold these core constitutional principles and strike down Proposal 2." http://www.naacpldf.org/content.aspx?article=1243