President's Comments Contradict His Actions on Affirmative Action
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 8/11/2004
Recent comments by President Bush about affirmative action, which contrast with his actions in this area, have left many perplexed as to where he stands on this important civil rights issue.
The President's comments were made at the UNITY 2004 conference for minority journalists, during a question and answer session that followed his address to the group.
After being pressed by a reporter about whether he had a position on legacy programs in college admissions, the President said, "We should get rid of legacy admissions... I think colleges should use merit." Legacy refers to the practice of using an applicant's family history at colleges or universities as a factor in college admissions. President Bush himself was a beneficiary of legacy at Yale University, which his father and grandfather also attended.
In the past, the President has opposed affirmative action programs and the consideration of race as a factor in college admissions. In fact, last year, his administration filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court opposing race-conscious policies at the University of Michigan.
After being asked about his position on affirmative action, the President replied: ""I support colleges affirmatively taking action to get more minorities in their school.... I support diversity; I don't support quotas."
Rigid quotas are illegal under existing law. Affirmative action programs use flexible goals and timetables to check the progress of efforts being made to provide women and minorities with equal access and equal opportunity.
"The president's comments don't necessarily match up with his actions when it comes to the issue of affirmative action," said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR). "We are intrigued as to whether this is a change in his administration's position on the important issue of affirmative action, particularly in view of their January 2003 filing of an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to the University of Michigan's race-conscious admissions policies (
Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger)."
Henderson added, "LCCR's longstanding policy of supporting affirmative action is grounded in the belief that extending equal educational opportunities to qualified people of color and women has significantly increased the participation of underrepresented groups in the mainstream of our society. Affirmative action has helped open doors, previously closed, to members of our society because of their gender, race, or ethnicity."
