Look who came out for affirmative action!
Colin
Powell
“Equal rights and equal opportunity mean just that. They do not mean preferential
treatment...I benefited from equal opportunity and affirmative action in the
Army, but I was not shown preference. The Army made sure that performance would
be the only measure of advancement. When equal performance does not result in
equal advancement, then something is wrong with the system, and our leaders
have an obligation to fix it. If a history of discrimination has made it difficult
for certain Americans to meet standards, it is only fair to provide temporary
means to help them catch up and compete on equal terms. Affirmative action in
the best sense promotes equal consideration, not reverse discrimination.”
( Source: Colin Powell, My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 591-2)
Condoleezza
Rice
“I was provost at Stanford. I’m on the record. I supported affirmative action. I don’t believe in quotas. I don’t believe in lowered standards, but I don’t believe that affirmative action means lowered standards. I think it means looking outside of formal networks to find people who might be equally capable.
Stanford didn’t need another Soviet specialist when they hired me. I was there on a Ford Foundation fellowship to teach Soviet specialists about international security issues. Stanford, I think, took a look at this young Black woman and liked my work. I know that they created a space to hire me because they wanted to diversity the faculty. I also know when I came on, they said, “when it comes time to compete for tenure, you’ll have to compete just like everybody else. You won’t get any special treatment.” I said, “Sounds just fine to me.” I was tenured in less than six years, which is about a year and a half shorter than normal. I think it worked out well for Stanford and well for me. That was an example of affirmative action.” ( Source: Essence Magazine, October 2006, p. 189.)
Nikki Brown
When people "congratulate" me on having been admitted to UCLA post 209, I get a little ticked off. Not only does that loathsome accolade come with the underhanded assertion that I am the "exception" to a rule of Black inferiority, but it also seems to suggest that affirmative action is no longer necessary. People who make comments like this ignore the fact that it took a lot of affirmative action to bring me to a place in life where I could be admitted to study here. I certainly never would have had a chance at this or any school but for affirmative action and can't even count the ways in which I've benefited from affirmative action programs. We got WIC benefits and free school "lunch tickets" when I was a kid and my mom couldn't provide enough on two jobs, I participated in girl scouts for free at public schools. I earned a scholarship to attend an elite private school during high school for a summer program dedicated to women and minorities in science I was granted admission to top college despite the fact that I'd attended a "bad" high school and had modest SAT scores, and awarded enough financial aid to complete the degree.
Khaled Ali Beydoun
Affirmative action has been the most instrumental part of my success. My family escaped Lebanon as refugees during the war in the 80's, and we settled in America's most concentrated Arab American enclave, outside of Detroit. I am the middle-child of a single mother, who had little education and spoke little English when she arrived to the States. Likewise, Arabic was my native tongue and without English-as-a-second-language (ESL) affirmative action programs at public schools, I would have lagged far behind my classmates. In addition, considering my lack of promise academically early in my high school career, I enrolled in an auto apprenticeship program geared for minority students. I was ultimately admitted to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and received several Arab-American scholarships that enabled me to attend. At UM, I excelled academically and became inovled in the fight for affirmative action as (Gratz and Grutter were in the lower courts) because I knew how essential it was for my success. While a law student at UCLA, I experienced how the lack of affirmative action and diversity immediately creates a climate of intolerance and prejudice, when after 9/11 I was the target of routine on-campus profiling, hate crimes, and bashing from own classmates. Particularly in today's world, the grand affirmative action narrative cannot be told without a chapter on how it has facilitated the success of Arab Americans, and fostered tolerance in places where it is most needed. My own narrative is a testament to that.
Khalida Beydoun, Public Relations Officer/Islamic Institute of Knowledge and Counselor, Assistant Administrator of Riverside Academy West (Dearborn, MI)
As an educator I see, everyday, how affirmative action and equal opportunity impacts K-12 public education. Many of my students are from Iraq refugee families, and cannot get by without ESL classes. Many of my students are also poor and are from minority communities (Arab and African American), and would not have the opportunity to get into good colleges without an equal chance, and the financial aid and scholarships specially geared for these communities. In addition, affirmative action has helped me get into college and become a teacher/counselor, and compete with men for jobs. As an Arab American woman, I can personally testify to how racism, profiling and sexism impacts my demographic specifically, especially after 9/11 without affirmative action programs, my daughers and I would have no chance to compete. As the Public Relations Officer at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, I routinely encounter incidents where Arab men and women are discriminated against because of their faith and ethnicity, and more affirmative action is needed, not less, to correct this racism. I will vote no on Proposal 2, and have worked hard with my brother to educate my community.
Alexandra Oprea
I came to America when I was 8 years-old. Because I didn't know the language, I was put into first grade, as opposed to second. I remember some of my classmates calling me a "dummy" and teasing me because I didn't speak English. Luckily, my elementary school had ESL classes where I was able to not only learn English, but also be in the company of other non-native speakers who did not tease me. This was the first of many affirmative-action-type initiatives that I would benefit from.
In high school, I received reduced-fee school lunches and Women in Science awards. Despite not obtaining a stellar score on the SAT, I was accepted into Vassar College. After I enrolled, I realized that my SAT score was below that of the average student. During my Sophomore year at Vassar, my mother became disabled and lost her job. Despite the fact that I was already receiving a substantial amount of aid, Vassar provided me with full financial aid allowing me to complete my last two years of school without any family contribution toward my tuition.
During my Junior and Senior year, I was often home in NYC taking care of my mother and I was often not able to complete assignments on the same timetable as other students. Some of my professors understood this and allowed me to make up work, granting me extensions (based on an affirmative-action-type rationale) and not allowing my absences to negatively impact my grades. Some students thought that I received special treatment and that it was unfair that the rules were bent for me; but it would have actually been unfair for me to be academically penalized for facing disadvantages over which I had no control. By taking into account the structural hardships that I was experiencing, my professors allowed me to have a fair chance at earning good grades.
During my Junior year, I was selected to be a Ford Scholar by a Hispanic Studies professor who, aware of Roma (Gypsy) marginalization in academia, took an affirmative-action-approach to producing knowledge about Roma. Because the research project was specifically tailored for a Romani student, again there were insinuations of unfairness. Those who implied that it was unfair failed to recognize the fact that there was unfairness inherent to there being only one Romani student at Vassar and its sister schools and that it was unfair that Roma were systematically excluded from courses (e.g., courses dealing with Europe). Also not fair were the questions often asked in jest e.g., if I read palms or picked pockets or if my caravan was waiting outside.
During this time I founded the Roma Awareness Committee and applied to the Vassar Student Association for funding to attend an important conference in Germany on Roma rights. I received the travel grant, though normally only domestic conferences were funded. I again heard backlash talk - this time from someone on the board complaining that the next time he wants to "go skiing in Switzerland," he'll apply for VSA funding too.
After college, I also benefited from policies that treated equals equally instead of insisting on a one-size-fits-all approach. Due to the high level of anxiety that I experience when taking exams (especially when in a room with other people), I requested and received accommodations on the LSAT which allowed me to take the test in a room separate from other students (with a proctor).
In applying to graduate school, I believe that I benefited from affirmative action policies that guide Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs away from a strict focus on GPA and GRE scores to a more holistic consideration of applicants. I did not take the GRE and came in with a modest GPA, yet was still admitted into the Master of International Affairs program in light of the diversity value that a Roma woman could bring to the student body. Without affirmative action, I would have no shot at the American dream.
Your mission:
Affirmative Action benefits us in ways that aren't the stories you hear every day. Have you ever participated in an advancement program for people of disadvantaged gender and racial backgrounds? Speak up about Affirmative Action. Tell your story. We'll tell the world. stories@aapf.org
Founded in 1996 as a media-monitoring think-tank and information clearinghouse, the African American Policy Forum works to bridge the gap between scholarly research and public discourse related to inequality, discrimination and injustice. The AAPF seeks to build bridges between academic, activist and policy-making sectors in order to advance a more inclusive and robust public discourse on the challenge of achieving equity within and across diverse communities.
Please visit us at aapf.org