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TALKING POINTS: Michigan Affirmative Action

Defend Affirmative Action:

Battleground Michigan

BACKGROUND

Michigan voters have been presented with a ballot initiative that would comprehensively ban affirmative action in their state. This measure is one of the harshest attacks on affirmative action to come to a vote anywhere in the country. It has been misleadingly named the "Michigan Civil Rights Initiative." This initiative, also known as Proposal 2, should be called the Michigan Anti-Affirmative Action Initiative. The NAACP strongly urges all Michigan voters to come to the polls in force this November and vote no on Proposal 2, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.

Proposal 2 would add language to the Michigan state constitution to disallow "preferential treatment" based on gender, or race. This legislation mirrors similar initiatives in California, Washington State, and Florida in 1996, 1998 and 2002, respectively.

These efforts have been primarily organized by Ward Connerly, a black man from California who has extensive backing from white conservatives. He has founded a group known as the American Civil Rights Initiative (ACRI) which primarily works to defeat affirmative action in state level campaigns. It is especially crucial to defeat the Proposal 2 in Michigan because it is expected to have a detrimental affect on Connerly's continued ability to raise the money he needs to continue his carpet-bagging crusade to eliminate affirmative action in other states.

The national NAACP and its state and units have been actively involved in the battle to defend affirmative action in Michigan, and across the country, participating in marches, forums and public education campaigns. The NAACP firmly supports the use of affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity access to higher education, employment and contracts for minorities and women.

IMPACT OF PROPOSED BALLOT INITIATIVE

Passage of this anti-affirmative action ballot initiative, Proposal 2, would negatively affect the majority of Michigan citizens, particularly women and people of color. As a sweeping ban on affirmative action, it would also set a dangerous precedent for other states considering similar legislation. Similar anti-affirmative action legislation has already been passed California and Washington State with the following detrimental results:

• After enactment of Proposition 209 in California and I-200 in Washington, state and local higher education programs were no longer allowed to conduct recruitment and retention activities targeted at women and minorities.
• Special programs, like The California Summer Science and Technology Academy which targeted female and minority high-school students, were ended.
• The year after I-200 passed (1999), there was a drop in minority enrollment at the University of Washington and Washington State University.

The passage of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative would specifically

• Ban public institutions from using affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes. Public institutions affected by the proposal include state government, local governments, public colleges and universities, community colleges and school districts.
• Prohibit public institutions from discriminating against groups or individuals due to their gender, ethnicity, race, color or national origin. (A separate provision of the state constitution already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.)

Proposal 2 has troubling implications for higher education and employment & contracting. Diversity scholarships that consider race, gender, national origin, ethnicity or color would be at risk, as would financial aid programs that help to recruit and retain a diverse student body, The passage of Proposal 2 could also make it difficult to recruit, hire and retain diverse faculty of the highest caliber.

In the area of employment, Proposal 2 would challenges employers' ability to recruit and qualified women and people of color, train them, mentor them, manage them, and promote them. Proposal 2 would pose a further challenge for minority and women-owned in receiving equitable access to federal and state contracts.

For more information click here.

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