BlackCommentator.com: Ward Connerly's Super Tuesday for Segregation
by David A. Love Thursday Jan 31st, 2008 10:50 AM
"Supporting segregation need not be racist. One can believe in segregation and believe in equality of the races." - Ward Connerly, on CNN's "Wolf Blitzer Reports," Dec. 13, 2002 Ward Connerly, that high profile opponent for affirmative action and Black water carrier for the new Jim Crow, has returned. He wants to eliminate affirmative action everywhere, and make a buck at the same time. And with the help of corporate philanthropy and hate groups, he wants to take us back to the future we know too well. Connerly is plotting and planning for what he calls a Super Tuesday for Equal Rights. The purpose of his campaign is to promote ballot initiatives throughout the country that would eliminate tax dollars to affirmative action programs based on race and gender. Following similar initiatives in California, Michigan and Washington, he has targeted five states for this year's November ballot - Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Targeting states with relatively low numbers of people of color - and undoubtedly relying on the longstanding effectiveness of racial scapegoating, particularly in hard economic times, Connerly might very well succeed in the absence of a determined and coordinated campaign to quash his efforts. Although the anti-affirmative action forces seek to eliminate public funding of diversity based on gender as well as race, thereby harming White women as well, it is the so-called "racial preferences" that stick in the minds of people. Part of the time-tested Southern Strategy, anti-diversity campaigns is to appeal to disaffected Whites, who will act against their own interests, if it means the elimination of programs they believe are unfairly benefiting Black and Brown folks. Destroying the King Legacy is Profitable So, what's in it for Connerly? The dollars, of course. Apparently, there is much money to be made in dismantling the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement, and Connerly is first in line to get paid. In 1993, he was given a platform by California Gov. Pete Wilson with a seat on the California Board of Regents. Soon, he became a crusader against all that is important to Black people. That crusade was made possible through the support of extreme right-wing corporate philanthropy and alliances with White supremacist hate groups. Certainly, behind every puppet there is a puppet master who controls the strings, and Ward Connerly is no exception. In 1996, Connerly, himself a beneficiary of affirmative action through a California set-aside program for minority contractors, was responsible for the passage of Proposition 209, which eliminated the use of affirmative action by the state government in hiring and university admissions. On the eve of Dr. King's birthday in 1997, thanks to the generosity of the ultra-conservative Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and others, he formed the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI). (The Bradley Foundation has funded organizations that seek to destroy civil rights, such as the Center for Individual Rights. Charles Murray, author of the infamous book The Bell Curve, is a Bradley fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.) That same year, Connerly also formed the American Civil Rights Coalition (ACRC), the lobbying arm of ACRI. In true Orwellian fashion, these organizations embrace the antithesis of what their names suggest. The Equal Justice Society reports that in 2003, based on IRS records, Connerly received $1 million in compensation for his anti-civil rights efforts at ACRI and ACRC. This does not include compensation he received as CEO of Connerly & Associates, his Sacramento-based real estate business. The group Media Transparency has detailed the bankrolling of Ward Connerly's segregationist operations by the Bradley, Olin and Scaife Foundations. When he was unwilling to disclose the funding sources of his failed Proposition 54 - which would have prevented California from collecting important racial data, thereby crippling any efforts to address racial disparities in healthcare and education - a coalition of civil rights organizations sued him. Connerly, who raised $1.6 million for the 2003 Prop 54 effort, was fined $95,000 for breaking campaign financing disclosure laws. According to the Equal Justice Society, some of his largest contributors included John Moores, Sr., University of California Regents board member and owner of the San Diego Padres ($400,000); Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News ($300,000); Joseph Coors, the late Colorado beer baron and founding partner of the Heritage Foundation ($250,000), and William J. Hume, head of the anti-labor San Francisco-based company Basic American Foods ($200,000). White Supremacist Support for Anti-Affirmative Action Efforts If people are judged by the company they keep, then history will not show kindness to Connerly and the foes of civil rights. In his successful campaign to eliminate affirmative action in Michigan, he allied himself with Rev. John Raternik, head of the Michigan chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC). The CCC, a White supremacist organization, descended from the White Citizens' Councils of the Jim Crow era and is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The CCC, which has made the issue of non-White immigration a top priority, has declared America "a European country," opposes "all efforts to mix the races" and refers to Black people as "a retrograde species of humanity." Well-known figures with ties to the CCC include Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (R-AR), ex-Senator Trent Lott (R-MI), Governor Haley Barbor (R-MI), the late Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, former Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice, and former Alabama Governor Guy Hunt. Connerly, who supports segregation, welcomed the support of White racist groups in his fight against affirmative action. "If the Ku Klux Klan thinks that equality is right, God bless them," said Connerly. "Thank them for finally reaching the point where logic and reason are being applied, instead of hate." Dishonoring the movement Conservatives will point to individuals such as Clarence Thomas, Ward Connerly and others who are viewed as "brave" and "courageous" for bucking the Black establishment and taking unpopular views. But there is no bravery in what Connerly does, which is to cynically misappropriate Dr. King's vision for a colorblind society, in order to strike a blow against the nation's civil rights protections. There is no honor in desecrating the graves of the truly courageous martyrs, those such as Viola Liuzzo, a mother of five from Detroit who was gunned down like a dog by the KKK in Alabama in 1965, all for fighting for civil rights. There is no honor in spitting on the memory of voting rights crusader Fannie Lou Hamer, who was jailed and beaten nearly to death by police in Mississippi, and never recovered from her wounds. Nor is there any glory in dishonoring and mocking the name of Vernon Dahmer, who was killed in a terrorist bombing, not in Iraq or Afghanistan, but in his home in Hattiesbug, Mississippi, after volunteering to pay for Black voters' poll taxes. [To read the entire article, go to: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/01/31/18476057.php]
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Insight Center Launches "InBiz", Inclusive Business Initiative
The Insight Center for Community Economic Development (Insight Center) has launched “InBiz,” the Inclusive Business Initiative to promote policies and programs in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors that enhance minority and women-owned business development.
The components of the Initiative include a research report series entitled “Best Practices, Imperfections, and Challenges in State Inclusive Business Programs” which looks at the trend and impact of affirmative action procurement and targeted small development at the state level, as well as a website designed to provide information to states and local governments, as well as diverse small businesses and their advocates, in order to further the inclusive business programs of public agencies. Both the research reports and the state-searchable database on the website provide information that is not otherwise available. Other components will be added to the Initiative next year and beyond.
“This is the first time that so much information has been available in one place regarding state inclusive business programs,’ said Tim Lohrentz, Program Manager at the Insight Center. ‘We will continue to add new data and information on a continual basis. In addition, the website features the InBiz Blog and a discussion forum for inclusive business practitioners.’
Roger Clay Jr., President of the Insight Center added, “This initiative is a key component of the Insight Center's work to advance strategies that build family and community assets and help overcome the racial wealth gap.”
The research report series includes:
Executive Summary: The Evolution of Affirmative Action (Nov. 2007, PDF, 359KB) - An accessible summary of the two full-length studies in this series
State Policies and Programs for Minority- and Women-Business Development (Dec. 2007, PDF, 924 KB) - a thorough scan of the inclusive business programs carried out by all 50 states and D.C. related to M/WBE procurement and to M/WBE financing and business development services.
The Impact of State Affirmative Procurement Policies on Minority- and Women- Owned Businesses in Five States (Oct. 2007, PDF, 625 KB) - By examining business outcomes in 5 states, including California post-Proposition 209, this study concludes that state procurement policies do have an impact on businesses owned by women and persons of color.
The Insight Center for Community Economic Development, formerly the National Economic Development and Law Center (NEDLC), is a national research, consulting and legal organization dedicated to helping people and communities become, and remain, economically secure. The Insight Center's multidisciplinary approach utilizes a wide array of community economic development strategies including industry-focused workforce development, individual and community asset building, establishing the link between early care and education and economic development, and advocating for the adoption of the Self-Sufficiency Standard as a measurement of wage adequacy and an alternative to the Federal Poverty Line.
http://www.insightcced.org/
The components of the Initiative include a research report series entitled “Best Practices, Imperfections, and Challenges in State Inclusive Business Programs” which looks at the trend and impact of affirmative action procurement and targeted small development at the state level, as well as a website designed to provide information to states and local governments, as well as diverse small businesses and their advocates, in order to further the inclusive business programs of public agencies. Both the research reports and the state-searchable database on the website provide information that is not otherwise available. Other components will be added to the Initiative next year and beyond.
“This is the first time that so much information has been available in one place regarding state inclusive business programs,’ said Tim Lohrentz, Program Manager at the Insight Center. ‘We will continue to add new data and information on a continual basis. In addition, the website features the InBiz Blog and a discussion forum for inclusive business practitioners.’
Roger Clay Jr., President of the Insight Center added, “This initiative is a key component of the Insight Center's work to advance strategies that build family and community assets and help overcome the racial wealth gap.”
The research report series includes:
Executive Summary: The Evolution of Affirmative Action (Nov. 2007, PDF, 359KB) - An accessible summary of the two full-length studies in this series
State Policies and Programs for Minority- and Women-Business Development (Dec. 2007, PDF, 924 KB) - a thorough scan of the inclusive business programs carried out by all 50 states and D.C. related to M/WBE procurement and to M/WBE financing and business development services.
The Impact of State Affirmative Procurement Policies on Minority- and Women- Owned Businesses in Five States (Oct. 2007, PDF, 625 KB) - By examining business outcomes in 5 states, including California post-Proposition 209, this study concludes that state procurement policies do have an impact on businesses owned by women and persons of color.
The Insight Center for Community Economic Development, formerly the National Economic Development and Law Center (NEDLC), is a national research, consulting and legal organization dedicated to helping people and communities become, and remain, economically secure. The Insight Center's multidisciplinary approach utilizes a wide array of community economic development strategies including industry-focused workforce development, individual and community asset building, establishing the link between early care and education and economic development, and advocating for the adoption of the Self-Sufficiency Standard as a measurement of wage adequacy and an alternative to the Federal Poverty Line.
http://www.insightcced.org/
Legislator: Ban affirmative action (Wisconsin)
The Badger Herald
by Beth Mueller
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
A state lawmaker said Monday he will aim to ban the practice of considering race for hiring or admissions.
Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, plans to introduce legislation that would lead to a constitutional amendment banning affirmative action in Wisconsin.
“As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that the forces of affirmative action are trying to expand the role of preferences in Wisconsin,” Grothman said. “It is time to go back the other way.”
Grothman cited one state agency he is involved with that requires law firms to list the number of “so-called minorities” they employ before considering doing business with them.
“I think [affirmative action] is incredibly divisive and will eventually destroy this country,” Grothman said. “We cannot keep telling people to view themselves as members of an ethnic group; they have to be Americans first.”
The issue of affirmative action was debated at length in the Legislature last session in a special committee.
Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, worked with Grothman then and said the two could not disagree more on the issue.
“I’ve tried to make it very clear that I’m vehemently against a constitutional amendment or any other proposal that would limit affirmative action,” Grigsby said.
Grigsby added she does not think such a proposal would make much progress in the Democratic state Senate. [To read the entire article, go to: http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/02/05/legislator_ban_affir.php]
by Beth Mueller
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
A state lawmaker said Monday he will aim to ban the practice of considering race for hiring or admissions.
Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, plans to introduce legislation that would lead to a constitutional amendment banning affirmative action in Wisconsin.
“As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that the forces of affirmative action are trying to expand the role of preferences in Wisconsin,” Grothman said. “It is time to go back the other way.”
Grothman cited one state agency he is involved with that requires law firms to list the number of “so-called minorities” they employ before considering doing business with them.
“I think [affirmative action] is incredibly divisive and will eventually destroy this country,” Grothman said. “We cannot keep telling people to view themselves as members of an ethnic group; they have to be Americans first.”
The issue of affirmative action was debated at length in the Legislature last session in a special committee.
Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, worked with Grothman then and said the two could not disagree more on the issue.
“I’ve tried to make it very clear that I’m vehemently against a constitutional amendment or any other proposal that would limit affirmative action,” Grigsby said.
Grigsby added she does not think such a proposal would make much progress in the Democratic state Senate. [To read the entire article, go to: http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/02/05/legislator_ban_affir.php]
U.S. Education Department to Probe Program for Black Men on 16 CUNY Campuses
Chronicle of Higher Education
News Blog
February 4, 2008
The U.S. Department of Education has opened investigations at 16 campuses of the City University of New York to determine whether a program to improve the enrollment and graduation rates of black men violates federal civil-rights law.
In April 2006, the New York Civil Rights Coalition filed a federal complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights about CUNY’s proposed “Black Male Initiative,” which the civil-rights group charged would offer “remedial and differential treatment” to students based on race and gender. The group argued that such a segregated pedagogy violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
The Office for Civil Rights received that complaint in May 2006, followed by a second complaint from the same group, in June 2006, charging discrimination in the hiring of staff members for the program.
“In order to investigate the allegation in the most thorough and appropriate manner, OCR determined it would open individual complaints against each of the 16 colleges,” said Jim Bradshaw, a Department of Education spokesman.
In 2006 a CUNY spokesman told The Chronicle that the system was not planning any race-exclusive programs, but that it was considering the promotion of gender-focused programs to help black men. The program under attack was part of a four-year master plan called the “Initiative on the Black Male in Education,” approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees in 2004.
“We will, of course, continue to fully cooperate with the Office for Civil Rights,” Jay Hershenson, a CUNY spokesman, said today. “CUNY is confident that [the program] will be recognized for its great work in fostering access and success to the benefits of education, including to those who are underrepresented in higher education.”
According to the civil-rights group, the CUNY institutions that are under investigation are the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Kingsborough Community College, LaGuardia Community College, Baruch College, Brooklyn College, City College, Lehman College, College of Staten Island, Medgar Evers College, Hostos Community College, Hunter College, Queens College, Queensborough Community College, York College, the CUNY Graduate School and University Center, and the New York City College of Technology.
—JJ HermesPosted on Monday February 4, 2008 http://chronicle.com/news/article/3862/department-of-education-to-probe-program-for-black-men-at-16-cuny-campuses?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
News Blog
February 4, 2008
The U.S. Department of Education has opened investigations at 16 campuses of the City University of New York to determine whether a program to improve the enrollment and graduation rates of black men violates federal civil-rights law.
In April 2006, the New York Civil Rights Coalition filed a federal complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights about CUNY’s proposed “Black Male Initiative,” which the civil-rights group charged would offer “remedial and differential treatment” to students based on race and gender. The group argued that such a segregated pedagogy violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
The Office for Civil Rights received that complaint in May 2006, followed by a second complaint from the same group, in June 2006, charging discrimination in the hiring of staff members for the program.
“In order to investigate the allegation in the most thorough and appropriate manner, OCR determined it would open individual complaints against each of the 16 colleges,” said Jim Bradshaw, a Department of Education spokesman.
In 2006 a CUNY spokesman told The Chronicle that the system was not planning any race-exclusive programs, but that it was considering the promotion of gender-focused programs to help black men. The program under attack was part of a four-year master plan called the “Initiative on the Black Male in Education,” approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees in 2004.
“We will, of course, continue to fully cooperate with the Office for Civil Rights,” Jay Hershenson, a CUNY spokesman, said today. “CUNY is confident that [the program] will be recognized for its great work in fostering access and success to the benefits of education, including to those who are underrepresented in higher education.”
According to the civil-rights group, the CUNY institutions that are under investigation are the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Kingsborough Community College, LaGuardia Community College, Baruch College, Brooklyn College, City College, Lehman College, College of Staten Island, Medgar Evers College, Hostos Community College, Hunter College, Queens College, Queensborough Community College, York College, the CUNY Graduate School and University Center, and the New York City College of Technology.
—JJ HermesPosted on Monday February 4, 2008 http://chronicle.com/news/article/3862/department-of-education-to-probe-program-for-black-men-at-16-cuny-campuses?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Monday, February 4, 2008
New Family and Medical Leave Act Amendments Signed into Law
Information from the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division Website:
On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 (NDAA), Pub. L. 110-181. Among other things, section 585 of the NDAA amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to permit a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.”
The provisions in the NDAA providing this leave are effective as of the date of the President’s signing. The Department of Labor is working quickly to prepare more comprehensive guidance regarding rights and responsibilities under this new legislation. In the interim, WHD will require employers to act in good faith in providing leave under the new legislation. Because the NDAA amends the FMLA, FMLA-type procedures should be used as may be appropriate (for example, procedures regarding substitution of paid leave and notice).
The NDAA also permits an employee to take FMLA leave for “any qualifying exigency (as the Secretary [of Labor] shall, by regulation, determine) arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation.” By its express terms, this provision of the NDAA is not effective until the Secretary of Labor issues final regulations defining “any qualifying exigency.” DOL is expeditiously preparing such regulations. In the interim, DOL encourages employers to provide this type of leave to qualifying employees.
DOL will update this page as additional guidance is developed and published.
To view the amended Title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act:
Title I of the FMLA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008
The information at the link below may also be of interest:
Compliance Assistance – Family and Medical Leave Act
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/NDAA_fmla.htm
On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 (NDAA), Pub. L. 110-181. Among other things, section 585 of the NDAA amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to permit a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.”
The provisions in the NDAA providing this leave are effective as of the date of the President’s signing. The Department of Labor is working quickly to prepare more comprehensive guidance regarding rights and responsibilities under this new legislation. In the interim, WHD will require employers to act in good faith in providing leave under the new legislation. Because the NDAA amends the FMLA, FMLA-type procedures should be used as may be appropriate (for example, procedures regarding substitution of paid leave and notice).
The NDAA also permits an employee to take FMLA leave for “any qualifying exigency (as the Secretary [of Labor] shall, by regulation, determine) arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation.” By its express terms, this provision of the NDAA is not effective until the Secretary of Labor issues final regulations defining “any qualifying exigency.” DOL is expeditiously preparing such regulations. In the interim, DOL encourages employers to provide this type of leave to qualifying employees.
DOL will update this page as additional guidance is developed and published.
To view the amended Title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act:
Title I of the FMLA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008
The information at the link below may also be of interest:
Compliance Assistance – Family and Medical Leave Act
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/NDAA_fmla.htm
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