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From the radio newsmagazine
Between The Lines
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Between the Lines Q
A weekly column featuring progressive viewpoints
on national and international issues
under-reported in mainstream media
for release Jan. 27, 2002
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Civil Rights Groups Denounce White House Attack on University of Michigan Affirmative Action Program
Interview with the Rev. Joseph Lowery, co-founder and president emeritus of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, conducted by Scott Harris
Listen in RealAudio: http://66.175.55.251/lowery013103.ram
Following close on the heels of the controversy sparked by Sen. Trent Lott's racially insensitive comments, the Bush
administration has chosen sides in a landmark affirmative action case that will soon be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The president will file a brief on behalf of prospective white students who allege in a suit that the University of
Michigan's race-conscious admission policy unfairly discriminated against them.
White House spokespersons say that the administration's goal is not to overturn all college affirmative action programs,
but just that used by the University of Michigan. But critics contend that Mr. Bush's stance on this case has cast a
shadow over his presidency. Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson attacked Mr. Bush as "the most anti-civil rights
president in 50 years."
The Michigan case reopens the debate ignited in the 1978 Supreme Court Bakke decision, which narrowly ruled that quotas
were impermissible, but that the use of race in the pursuit of diversity could be allowed. Between The Lines' Scott
Harris spoke with the Rev. Joseph Lowery, cofounder and president emeritus of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, who takes a critical look at the Bush administration's decision to oppose the University of Michigan
affirmative action policy.
Rev. Joseph Lowery: The Trent Lott debacle was interesting in that they got rid of Trent as the majority leader, but the
Trent Lott mentality -- in spite of the fact that he proclaimed over and over again on national television that he
supported affirmative action --- the truth of the matter is he exposed their southern strategy which opposes affirmative
action. So we talk about race-based initiatives, we talk about race neutral policies for admission by universities and
hiring by corporations, but the truth of the matter is, we know full well that the inequities we see in this country
that are based on race did not occur by osmosis, they did not occur accidentally, they occurred as a result of
deliberate intentional policy and they will not be addressed or remedied except by intentional, deliberative policy. And
that's what affirmative action is all about.
Between The Lines: What do you think went into the decision that the Bush administration made to attack affirmative
action at the University of Michigan with this upcoming Supreme Court case? What kind of political calculations do you
think they made?
Rev. Joseph Lowery: I think it's another rung on the ladder that leads to southern strategy. They're appeasing the
right-wing element in the (Republican) party. And it's interesting to me that the president got into the university
where he attended because points were given to him because he was the son of a graduate -- people who are children of
alumni get points. But yet, they're objecting to the children of those who were excluded because of their race getting
points because the university wants to address that inequity.
Between The Lines: What in your mind are the consequences if the Supreme Court overturns the University of Michigan's
admissions policy? What will that do to affirmative action nationally?
Rev. Joseph Lowery: Well, I think it will have a devastating effect. I think it will result, as it has in other places,
in a serious decrease in the enrollment of minorities. The fact that minorities have challenges is because of their
deprived background in their earlier educational experiences, in the disadvantages of their families. It's not just
blacks and browns, I think there are disadvantaged whites who need attention as well. But the effort on the part of the
University of Michigan, is, I think, a courageous effort to avoid the pitfalls of other universities that have been
forced to take out their affirmative action plans -- and the result is you're going to get an all-white campus.
Between The Lines: Rev. Lowery, you hear the rhetoric of politicians and right-wing talk show hosts who allege that
affirmative action as it's played out in places like the University of Michigan and others, effectively discriminates
against white students with high grade point averages. How do you respond to the idea that somehow affirmative action is
discriminatory and defies the whole issue of preventing discrimination on the basis of skin color?
Rev. Joseph Lowery: I think there are very rare cases where some whites may not have gained admission because of the
number of minorities admitted -- that may be. But, when you hold it up against the millions, the generations of
minorities who have been excluded very deliberately and when you make a conscientious effort to atone for that, and to
compensate for that, to rectify that, at some time or another, you may step on the toes of somebody who was hurt in that
process. But I find it difficult to feel sorry for people who, if they can't get into Harvard, can get into Yale.
There's no real truth to the fact that anybody is denied an education -- and maybe in some specific instance you may not
at this point in history get in a particular school -- but you have so many other opportunities that minorities don't
have. But even if that happens, you can make it through and go right on about your business.
Between The Lines: How do you see the United States -- are we going backwards here in some respect or do you have hope
that enough people will rally to protect things like affirmative action and struggle for equality that we can overcome
whatever is happening in this country at the moment?
Rev. Joseph Lowery: Oh yes, I believe in the final triumph of righteousness. I believe that justice will prevail.
Sometimes, it takes a long time. The revolution that we experienced is a result of the (civil rights) movement which
precipitated a counter-revolution. And the counter-revolution now is seeking to redefine America in terms of the old
Dixiecrat framing of public policy. So we've got to organize and coalesce and become more active in the name of Martin
Luther King. This is a good time to renew that commitment to let justice roll down like waters and usher in a new phase
of justice and equity in this country.
Rev. Joseph Lowery currently works with the Black Leadership Forum. Contact the Forum at (202) 780-5599 or visit their
Web site at http://www.blackleadershipforum.org
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