Military Leaders Speak Out in Favor of Equal Opportunity
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 6/30/2003
Americans for a Fair Chance (AFC), a project of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF), recently hosted a forum on the U.S. Military and affirmative action at the Georgetown University Law School. The forum included such notables as The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne; Hon. Joseph R. Reeder, the 14th Under Secretary of the Army; Lt. Gen. J.W. Becton, Jr.; Admiral Dennis Blair, a retired 4-star general; and attorney Virginia Seitz.The panel discussed the importance of affirmative action in the context of the U.S. military in light of the upcoming Supreme Court decisions in Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, collectively known as the University of Michigan affirmative action cases. The discussion centered on how affirmative action promotes diversity that is essential to an effective and cohesive military. Hon. Reeder remarked, "A minority soldier doesn't necessarily need to be led by a minority officer. But one needs to be able to look up the ranks and see minorities in a fair structure of leadership."
The military's commitment to affirmative action is demonstrated by its amicus brief in the University of Michigan cases. Seitz, the Counsel of Record for the military's brief, argued for the constitutionality of affirmative action. She outlined how the use of affirmative action in undergraduate institutions creates a pool of qualified minority candidates for leadership positions within the military. Seitz concluded that, "The fact that race is divisive doesn't mean that it can never be used as a tool for the government to distribute burdens and benefits."
The forum was part of AFC's "Because Affirmative Action Works" public awareness campaign. Wade Henderson, LCCREF counsel, noted that, "The campaign will greatly assist our efforts to provide the real story of affirmative action, and to debunk the myths being advanced by those opposed to the policy." The event also coincided with the upcoming launch of AFC's newly designed website, www.fairchance.org.
