Affirmative Action: End It or Just Mend It?
Affirmative Action, Rainbow Coalition Symposium - September 30, 1995
By Jim Gibson
History
In the 1960s, this debate and the civil rights movement were rooted in principle and transformed the politics of its time. It was driven by citizens working together on the basis of shared values - that race and gender should no longer be used as criteria for discrimination.
We have gotten off track. Senator Moniyhan incident - Many whites stopped discussing race as an American fact of life. It also sickened the debate on out-of-wedlock births.
Traditional liberals say help them without question, regardless of what they do or cause. Conservatives simply wag their fingers and offer harsh, punitive measures like orphanages.
1985 Greenberg study
1995's Poisonous Political Environment
Whether on a personal basis or in the society at large, all of us know it is impossible to solve any problem - without open, honest and constructive public dialogue. Pretending the division does not exist has only continued to increase racial/gender polarization.
Until very recently, the debate has been relatively quiet - except for false solutions we are now hearing from the likes of Buchanan, Gramm & Wilson. When we did hear about the issue, it was being debated by the Jesses - Jackson and Helms. The rest of us have engaged in a conspiracy of silence, resulting in racial gridlock and camps more focused on their self-interests rather debating on principle.
The incentives for a healthy debate are not there right now. The right end of the political spectrum does not care because they have had little success in recruiting significant numbers of people of color. In fact, many Republicans win elections when large numbers of white Democrats switch over and vote for them. As a result, the GOP has no political incentive to propose real and constructive solutions.
Most white Democratic candidates duck the race issue because their support among whites is already so tenuous. In addition, they worry that discussing race might be confused with racism, endangering support from people of color.
Examples of ResultsPolitical parties increasingly polarizing around race and genderRacial Redistricting - Precluding opportunities to build biracial coalitionsClarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearingsFraming the New DebateTo restart the discussion and restore unity, we must change the dynamics of the current debate. For one, in my mind, the debate should not focus on whether you are for or against affirmative action, but rather the policy alternatives necessary to achieve equal opportunity.
For example we should reinvent anti-discrimination laws and beef up enforcement. It is ironic that the same folks want to just discard affirmative action are also defunding all anti-discrimination efforts.
When we decide to still use affirmative action as a means to equal opportunity in some arenas - higher education for example - we must make a critical distinction. Compensatory action involves measures to help those less fortunate to catch up to the standards of competition. Preferential treatment involves suspending those standards, to admit or hire the less-privileged unable to meet the same requirements.
Americans, including many women and people of color, are drawing the line at predetermining the results of the competition. Starting line but don't rig the race.
Let me suggest another foundation for a new, fresh and much more productive debate. Dr. Martin Luther King was absolutely right when he said that full equality will arrive only when the civil rights campaign becomes one with a movement that provides all Americans with meaningful education and a decent living wage. Because we will succeed only when everyone - African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, whites, women and others - prosper.
Unity as the Priority
As we celebrate our respective differences and experiences, we must also work overtime to affirm principles - like the values of tolerance and respect - that transcend race and gender even as we try to expose racism, sexism and other injustices. Otherwise, we may be risking repeating racism's primary sin - subordinating what Dr. King called "the content of our character" to the color of our skin or gender.
America is growing more diverse. Effective governing will increasingly depend on building bridges between differing political cultures. We must not ignore opportunities to draw connections between the conditions and aspirations of the urban, ethnic, working poor, suburban-like "new collar" folks with citizens of color.
We must make clear that whenever the discussion around diversity turns into identity politics - that is, whenever it becomes an ideology that forecloses a culture and society based on common principles - freedom and multiculturalism themselves are undermined. While purging the common culture of its racist, sexist and elitist elements must continue, we must
also not abandon the hard work of shared values.
Indeed, racial and gender discrimination has existed and still plagues society. The real issue is what to do about it.
Our current dialogue and solutions must be refocused, not discarded, because, for example, poverty knows no racial boundaries. The national percentage of whites on public assistance is almost identical to the percentage of African-Americans.
As a result, this agenda of unity must include initiatives that emphasize full employment, empowerment, self-sufficiency and personal safety for all of us. New, entrepreneurial, non-bureaucratic, and results-oriented approaches, that inspire personal responsibility, must be used.
Another example - fighting crime represents an issue of common ground for all of us. According to US Department of Justice, fear of neighborhood crime has risen almost twice as fast among African-Americans as whites. These perceptions are justified - the incidence of violent crime victimizes blacks more then whites.
All Americans must always condemn violence and those who commit it. In contrast to what many said after the South-Central Los Angeles riots, we should not praise or reward gang leaders as legitimate representatives of the community - especially when the vast majority of residents in those neighborhoods are law-abiding. These riots (versus "rebellions") must not be characterized as mere expressions of appropriate community anger.
We must focus on the millions of families dissolving, spreading violence and prison populations that are exploding. We must narrow the widening gaps in city-suburban-rural incomes and worsening divisions between the "haves" and the "have-nots." We need an education system that is not up to par with our global competitors.
We face a crisis that neither liberal sociology or conservative piety can begin to address. Government spending or simplistic self-help slogans will not get the job done.
Our civic and political dialogue must once again talk about justice and virtue. In all of America's cultures over the past 50 years, personal responsibility, community and values have been too divorced from our public discussions.
Citizens know that we can no longer live by the old adages of the 1960s and 1980s. We must discard "every man for himself" and simplistic moralizing as well as "if it feels good, do it" or "it is forbidden to forbid."
Beliefs based on personal responsibility and community can dramatically change the world. The civil rights movement itself proved that.
The Founding Fathers were visionary when they drafted our cherished Bill of Rights. In that era, rights and individual freedom needed affirmation while everyone's personal responsibilities and sense of community were very clear.
In 1995, we have come full circle. Now, our responsibilities to each other and a reinvigorated sense of community need affirmation while individual rights are all too well known. Maybe, today, we need a Bill of Responsibilities that includes civic duties like serving on a jury, voting regularly, and paying the taxes due.
Equal sacrifice for the common good is essential for a healthy democracy and strong economy. Patriotism is not just waving flags, but about meeting our true civic obligations. We must stress responsibility for ourselves, for one another and for our communities.
Liberty itself cannot be sustained for long without personal responsibility and strong communities. Nor can any community long survive unless its members dedicate some of their attention, energy, and resources to shared projects.
In that light, today's debate on equal opportunity and civil rights should be based on my what my ideal was as a young boy and still is - a movement that develops racial/gender unity through common ground and solutions for people of all backgrounds.