Showing posts with label affirmative action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label affirmative action. Show all posts

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Statement by Vice President Kamala Harris on the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action ruling

Vice President Kamala Harris made the following statement on the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action ruling:

Today’s Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina is a step backward for our nation. It rolls back long-established precedent and will make it more difficult for students from underrepresented backgrounds to have access to opportunities that will help them fulfill their full potential.

It is well established that all students benefit when classrooms and campuses reflect the incredible diversity of our Nation. Colleges and universities provide opportunities for students to interact with Americans from all walks of life and learn from one another. By making our schools less diverse, this ruling will harm the educational experience for all students.

Our Nation’s colleges and universities educate and train the next generation of American leaders. Students who sit in classrooms today will be the leaders of our government, military, private sector, and academic institutions tomorrow. Today’s decision will impact our country for decades to come.

In the wake of this decision, we must work with ever more urgency to make sure that all of our young people have an opportunity to thrive.

Michelle Obama statement on Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action

Read former First Lady, Michelle Obama's response to the Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action:

Congressional Black Caucus Issues Statement Regarding Supreme Court Decision on Affirmative Action

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford (NV-04) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC.

“Since 1978, the Supreme Court has held that race-based admissions policies in colleges and universities can be administered in keeping with the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Precedents set decades ago in the landmark Bakke decision have given students – regardless of their race or ethnicity – a better chance at equal admissions to our nation's top schools, and our country has been made better for it. By delivering a decision on affirmative action so radical as to deny young people seeking an education equal opportunity in our education system, the Supreme Court has thrown into question its own legitimacy.

“Unfortunately, we have seen backlash to progress many times throughout our nation’s history. During Reconstruction, we had a mere 12 years of Black achievement in policy, politics, the arts and sciences, and education that were followed by 70 years of state-sanctioned Jim Crow. We didn't stop fighting for equality then and we won’t stop now because too much is at stake to allow extremists to turn back the clock on progress.

“The Congressional Black Caucus is proud to stand alongside our colleagues of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to fight for equal opportunity in admissions and to push back strongly against attempts to use this as a cultural wedge issue to pit communities of color against one another because our nation's diversity is our greatest strength.”

NAACP Condemns SCOTUS Ruling on Affirmative Action

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued extreme decisions reversing decades of precedent on affirmative action. The court's rulings in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. University of North Carolina jeopardize hard-fought progress for Black Americans in classrooms and beyond.

NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson released the following statement reaffirming the Association's commitment to tools that support equal access to higher education for Black students:

"Today the Supreme Court has bowed to the personally held beliefs of an extremist minority. We will not allow hate-inspired people in power to turn back the clock and undermine our hard-won victories. The tricks of America's dark past will not be tolerated. Let me be clear - affirmative action exists because we cannot rely on colleges, universities, and employers to enact admissions and hiring practices that embrace diversity, equity and inclusion. Race plays an undeniable role in shaping the identities of and quality of life for Black Americans. In a society still scarred by the wounds of racial disparities, the Supreme Court has displayed a willful ignorance of our reality. The NAACP will not be deterred nor silenced in our fight to hold leaders and institutions accountable for their role in embracing diversity no matter what."

READ: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissent in Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling

Read Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissent over the Supreme Court’s majority opinion on affirmative action in college admissions, in which she asserts that it will not bring a quicker end to racism.

Jackson Dissent by George L. Cook III on Scribd

Saturday, October 29, 2022

SCOTUS to hear challenge to Affirmative Action

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next Monday in a case that could have major implications for racial equality and college admissions. The case, Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, is widely expected to end the practice of affirmative action in higher education.

Monday, January 24, 2022

Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Case On Affirmative Action In College Admissions

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to the consideration of race in college admissions. The court said it will take up lawsuits claiming that Harvard University, a private institution, and the University of North Carolina, a state school, discriminate against Asian American applicants. A decision against the schools could mean the end of affirmative action in college admissions.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Black Businesses Scream as CARES Act Attempts to Eliminate Affirmative Action


WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, April 15, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) finds it shocking that the Department of Labor of the Trump Administration has made a move to eliminate Affirmative Action – a movement with roots within the Republican Party from the CARES Act (Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security). We must act now, join us Thursday, April 16 to hear our plan of action.

Dr. Arthur Fletcher is “rolling” in his grave as the Cares Act gives permission to eliminate the application of Affirmative Action – a process he introduced in 1972 under the Nixon Administration.

“This is a sucker punch!” Says NBCC President/CEO Harry C. Alford, “The damage will be immense if we don’t act quickly. Our businesses will drop like flies. President Trump must step in and clarify this situation before the damage becomes too great,” says Alford.

Larry Ivory, Chairman of the NBCC and President of the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce states: “We have come too far to let this set-back stop our momentum. President Trump needs to step in.”

“Through the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors they helped contribute to making America great! However, time and time again, our contributions and relevance to sustaining our country are forgotten. We need the Trump Administration and the United States Congress to remember that we matter, and respond to calls for inclusion in measures to improve the health and mortality of Blacks in America, as well as the equitable inclusion of authorized economic resources from our government immediately,” adds John Harmon, President of the African American Chamber of Commerce
of New Jersey.

In order to be a part of the solution join us on our call Thursday April 16, 2020 at 5:00 pm EDT. Click here to register. Here are the call-in details: 1-408-418-9388 and access code: 790 100 800. Join the NBCC conference call as we detail the agenda to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. We will lift the incredible voices of black businesses across the country as we fight and speak truth to power for our resilient future.


Friday, March 27, 2020

Department of Labor suspending its affirmative action guidelines.


While most of are focused on the Covid-19 outbreak, the U.S. Department of Labor has suspended its Affirmative Action guidelines. The Labor Department claims it's in order to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even if you believe that the outbreak is a good reason to do so please pay attention to what happens when the outbreak is over. Our elected officials in the US Senate and the House of Representatives must be vigilant and make sure that these guidelines are reinstated as soon as possible. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.com

In an effort to facilitate response efforts for COVID-19, Director Craig Leen of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that it is issuing a national interest exemption on March 17, 2020, to new supply and service and construction contracts entered into from March 17, 2020, through June 17, 2020. The national interest exemption allows a modification to the equal opportunity clauses, which relieves contractors and subcontractors from all affirmative action obligations, for covered contracts.
The national interest exemption does not apply to the processing of complaints of discrimination or exempt federal contractors from their obligations under other federal, state, or local civil rights laws.
OFCCP has also published FAQs and resources for new contractors on its website.

[SOURCE: NATLAWREVIEW]

Tuesday, July 03, 2018

Rep. Cedric Richmond bashes Trump’s move to scrap affirmative action

The head of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) hammered the Trump administration on Tuesday for revoking federal guidelines that encourage colleges to consider race in their admissions determinations, calling the move an unveiled attack on minorities.

Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who has long accused President Trump of pursuing policies that are overtly racist, said rescinding the Obama-era affirmative action guidelines will “turn back the clock” on efforts to encourage diversity on college campuses across the country.

“Yet again we see that this administration's goal and vision for ‘Making America Great Again’ is to reduce the role of the state in making sure our society prizes diversity and inclusion,” Richmond said in a statement. “While I am not surprised, I continue to be disappointed that the President of this great country demonstrably cares so little for its non-white residents and their interests."

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Statement from Congressional Black Caucus Chairman on DOJ Plans to Attack Affirmative Action

Today, the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congressman Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.), issued the following statement on Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to attack affirmative action efforts on college and university campuses:

“Attorney General Sessions continues to show us again and again who he is and what he is about.

“In January of this year, the CBC expressed grave concerns about the nomination of then Senator Sessions to the post of attorney general because of his decades-long record of hostility to civil rights and equality issues. The New York Times report that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is planning to use tax payer funds to expand its current assault on communities of color is more proof that our concerns were well-founded. In fact, with each passing day of the Trump Administration, the CBC’s worst fears about Attorney General Sessions are quickly becoming reality.

“Instead of standing up for himself to a president who called him ‘very weak’ and ‘beleaguered,’ Attorney General Sessions has chosen to pick on minority students who are in pursuit of a college education, opportunity, and the American Dream. In doing so, he’s appealing to the lowest common denominator in our country, people who wrongly believe that minority students who benefit from efforts to promote diversity and equality are ignorant, undeserving, and unqualified.

“Also, in doing so, he is re-litigating last year’s Supreme Court ruling upholding decades of precedent in favor of affirmative action in higher education. His re-litigation of settled law promotes the false narrative that efforts to ensure more people of color have access to higher education is a war on white people. It also chills diversity and equality efforts in higher education by intimidating the academic community.

“In Fisher v. University of Texas, the Supreme Court held that colleges and universities had a ‘lawful’ and ‘compelling interest’ in including racial diversity as a part of their mission because of the ‘educational benefits that flow from student body diversity.’ The court also held that race could be considered along with merit-based criteria in admissions decisions. Now, Attorney General Sessions wants to turn back the clock to the darker days in our history when minority students couldn’t get into the schools of their choice because of racist admissions practices.

“In addition to this attack on Affirmative Action, Attorney General Sessions has taken steps to increase voter suppression, promote private prisons, revive the failed war on drugs, and incentivize mass incarceration, which hurts families and communities. The CBC is strongly opposed to these efforts and will continue to push back on DOJ’s obvious attempts to limit the rights of communities of color.”

John Conyers statement on Trump Administration Plans to attack affirmative action


Representatives Bobby Scott (VA-03) and John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), the ranking members of the House Committees on Education and the Workforce and the Judiciary, respectively, issued the following statement after reports surfaced that the Department of Justice plans to attack and undermine affirmative action programs in colleges and universities.

“While we cannot comment on the veracity of this alleged memo, we are deeply concerned by news reports that the Department of Justice intends to challenge the application of affirmative action programs in colleges and universities. What is already clear is the Trump Administration’s public record of attacking civil rights protections on multiple fronts.

“As ranking members, we led 86 Members of the House in an amicus brief in support of affirmative action programs in higher education. We were one of nearly 70 organizations to take the same position, including retired Chiefs of Staff of our nation’s Armed Services, leading Fortune 500 companies, academics, 19 state governors, the faith community and many others. The position that we took was ultimately affirmed by the Supreme Court – the consideration of race and ethnicity to achieve diversity in admissions is a constitutional and is a compelling state interest that can be achieved through narrowly tailored means.

“Whether it is the Department of Justice’s decision to examine the use of consent decrees with state and local police departments, which are designed to reduce instances of police brutality and discriminatory treatment; Attorney General Session’s decision to return to the harsh application of mandatory minimum sentences which have been proven to be racially discriminatory and counterproductive to reducing crime; the White House’s so-called election integrity commission which purports to “solve” voter fraud while requesting the most personal data of the Nation’s 200 million registered voters; or efforts to weaken the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) – agencies charged with the enforcement of employment nondiscrimination laws, the Trump administration has not wasted any opportunity to roll back existing civil rights protections for underrepresented minorities.

“Further, the Administration’s reactionary efforts were signaled in the White House’s proposed budget to which reduces or eliminated funding tied to the enforcement of federal civil rights laws. The Trump Administration’s budget undermines the constitutional promise of Brown v. Board of Education by cutting federal funding to support public schools that serve our nation’s poorest students. It proposes elimination of the environmental justice program, gutting the primary tool to examine and address the impact of environmental policies and decisions on communities of color, low-income and tribal communities. And proving the adage “any rights without remedies are no rights at all,” the President’s budget proposes eliminating federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) that provides civil legal aid for low income Americans to help them have their day in court.

“These actions, already on the record, provide a clear, yet unsettling picture of this Administration’s hostile view of the federal government’s role in protecting civil rights.”


NAACP denounces DOJ's plan to target Affirmative Action Programs



NAACP DENOUNCES DOJ’S PLANS TO CURB DIVERSITY EFFORTS IN HIGHER ED

The NAACP, the country’s original and largest social justice organization denounces the U.S. Department of Justice’s plans to investigate and sue higher education institutions whose admission policies promote the inclusion of people of color. The NAACP issued the following statement.

Trump’s Justice Department seems laser-focused on achieving rights and privileges for ‘just-us’; totally excluding people of color. It’s not enough that President Trump proposes to radically cut the 2018 education budget and undermine public schools which would adversely affect African-Americans and his supporters alike, but now his Administration is preparing to investigate and prosecute colleges and universities that strive to admit more people of color.” said Derrick Johnson, interim president and CEO. “Affirmative action was not created as a way for African-Americans, Latinos, or Asian-Americans to get an unfair advantage over their white peers. It’s a mechanism to level the playing field and create equal opportunity for people of color following decades of oppression. We should foster efforts to promote diversity on college and university campuses not hinder it.”

“The Supreme Court has ruled time and time again that affirmative action policies are consistent with our Constitution. For the Justice Department to even suggest otherwise is not only disrespectful to the highest court in the land, it’s un-American and plain ol’ nasty,” said Leon Russell, chairman of the NAACP board of directors. “Practices like investigating universities and colleges for affirmative action policies continue to demonstrate that President Trump is wholly disinterested in the prosperity of black people. The NAACP counts education as one of the essential elements African-Americans — and all Americans – need to achieve a healthy community. The Justice Department’s covert decision to make higher education more difficult for African-Americans to attain is underhanded and won’t be tolerated.”


Wednesday, December 09, 2015

Supreme Court divided on affirmative action

Many African Americans are paying attention to pressing issues in the black community, what's going on in Chicago, problems with education, housing, gun violence, access to healthy foods etc. Others are paying more attention to nonsense like Empire or "Whatever Housewives of Where Ever". Mo matter what you are paying attention to you had better take some time to look into a affirmative action case that the US Supreme Court is hearing right now. This is a case that could have huge ramifications for African Americans and other minorities. George Cook AfricanAmericanReports.com.

Case comes at a time when students across the country are showing signs of racial unrest.

Supreme Court justices appeared divided Wednesday about the future of a program at the University of Texas that takes race into consideration as one factor of admissions.

The hearing, which was at times tense and went over the originally allotted one hour time frame, revealed some of the same fissures that bothered the justices when the case was heard for the first time in 2012. The three liberal justices on the bench appeared largely supportive of the plan. The conservatives, led with passionate questions from Justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia were at times sharply critical of arguments made by a lawyer for the University.


Justice Anthony Kennedy, who could be a key swing vote in the highly anticipated case, suggested at one point the case should be sent back to a lower court to give the school an opportunity to present more evidence about the plan. Kennedy lamented that even though the court sent the case back to the lower court three years ago it felt like, "we're just arguing the same case." Later in the arguments, however, Kennedy seemed to pull back a bit from the idea that a remand might be necessary.

Supporters of affirmative action in higher education are fearful that the court might issue a broad ruling in the case that will curtail a public university's ability to consider race in order to produce a more diverse student body.

Read more: Supreme Court divided on affirmative action



Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Michigan's affirmative action ban upheld by Supreme Court

(CNN)Michigan's law banning the use of affirmative action in college admissions was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, in a case that raised thorny questions over race and remedies.

The 6-2 ruling reversed a lower court's 2013 ruling that the voter-approved affirmative action ban violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantees. Three justices in the majority -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito -- concluded that the lower court did not have the authority to set aside the law.

It is the latest step in a legal and political battle over whether state colleges can use race and gender as factors in choosing which students to admit.

Read more: Michigan's affirmative action ban upheld by Supreme Court