The Military and Affirmative Action Forum

The Military and Affirmative Action Forum - Audio Recordings

Military leaders came together in a June 18, 2003 forum to discuss the importance of equal opportunity in today's military.

Organized by Americans for a Fair Chance, a project of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF), the forum examined how the military developed successful equal opportunity programs and what is likely to happen if the Supreme Court decides to change current law.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon in cases involving the admissions processes of the University of Michigan and its law school.

Appearing on the panel, moderated by Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, were Lt. Gen. Julius W. Becton, Jr., Adm. Dennis Blair, former Assistant Secretary of the Army Joseph Reeder and attorney Virginia Seitz, who was counsel of record on the military amicus brief.

Becton, Blair, and Reeder were among the twenty-nine high-ranking military leaders who signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of the University of Michigan. The panel was introduced by LCCREF Counsel Wade Henderson.