YOU, ME, AND CCRI: A Letter to Colin Powell
CONNERLY, WARD
You, Me, and CCRI: A Letter to Colin Powell By Ward Connerly DEAR GENERAL POWELL: As I write these words, tears are flowing down the cheeks of Michael Johnson, as his lips mumble the words to...
...Similarly, the claim that Proposition 209 will eliminate all affirmative action and outreach programs is, with all due respect, preposterous, and there is indisputable evidence to support my position...
...Clearly, Johnson and Lewis are proud of their individual accomplishments...
...No matter how you divide society— Catholic vs...
...But we are well past the point of being helpless victims who cannot succeed without “special help” from the government...
...They do not mean preferential treatment...
...Of course it does...
...Equal rights and equal opportunity, however, mean just that...
...You believe that affirmative action “does not lead to Balkanization...
...For example, the interpretation, which you have accepted, that Proposition 209 will legalize sex discrimination has been discredited by legal and constitutional scholars throughout the nation...
...Years from now, you will have your memories of an adoring convention, whose delegates honored your past contributions of military service and military leadership to the nation...
...Equal treatment under the law cannot wait on precise parity...
...Equal treatment under the law is one of those civil rights...
...A few minutes ago, Carl Lewis’s reaction was almost identical...
...Although you “preach the American dream” in your speeches, the foundation of affirmative action preferences is a belief that America is at its core a racist society...
...Civil rights: Those personal rights which attach to each of us as American citizens, and which are guaranteed against encroachment by our government...
...SINCERELY, Ward Connerly Ward Connerly, a California businessman, is chairman of the California Civil Rights Initiative...
...But what playing field has ever been completely level...
...You’ve been duped on this one, General...
...Just a few years ago, it would not have been “cool” for black Americans to evidence such pride in our nation...
...I wish you well, General...
...Remember the reaction of some black Americans when George Foreman waved an American flag following his gold medal ceremony...
...The nation has changed...
...Yet one cannot help but recognize their national pride— pride in a nation that fostered those individual accomplishments...
...You have decided to inject yourself into this publicpolicy discussion, which you have every right to do...
...He sent a slightly longer version of this letter last week to Gen...
...I need not tell you that the attention which our party is visiting upon you will be invaluable to the opponents (your allies) of the California Civil Rights Initiative...
...A replay of the end of his competition shows him pointing to his chest, where “USA” is displayed...
...You had it right in your book when you acknowledged the fundamental wrongs associated with preferential treatment based on race...
...We who have lived the black experience have changed American culture...
...I, on the other hand, believe that Americans have a passion for fairness and that the progress this country has made over the last generation is nothing short of miraculous...
...You argue that the playing field is not level...
...Proposition 209 [also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative— Ed.] would eliminate preferences based on race...
...You base your position about affirmative action preferences on history during a period when Jim Crow laws systematically excluded black Americans from participation in mainstream American culture...
...That is how secure I feel about my position and the judgment of future generations...
...Under the current system of racial preferences, each and every black and Chicano/Latino applicant to the University of California at San Diego is given 300 bonus points on his or her application over Asian or white applicants regardless of individual circumstances...
...In a few days, you will be addressing the nation from the podium at the Republican National Convention in San Diego...
...I must tell you, however, that I wouldn’t change places with you for anything in the world...
...Powell’s office in Alexandria, Va., following a correspondence between the two earlier in the summer...
...Ironically, this is an initiative that is supported by about 70 percent of California Republicans...
...Things have changed so much since the days of Jim Crow...
...You, Me, and CCRI: A Letter to Colin Powell By Ward Connerly DEAR GENERAL POWELL: As I write these words, tears are flowing down the cheeks of Michael Johnson, as his lips mumble the words to the “Star-Spangled Banner...
...The level playing field which you seek will ultimately be the product of legal equality...
...You have it wrong now as you seek to rationalize preferences...
...I, on the other hand, base my position on life for black Americans in 1996, which is one of remarkable achievement based on equality of opportunity...
...These scholars include Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, supporters of the initiative and opponents...
...The son of a black four-star general would receive a preference over the daughter of an Asian dishwasher...
...Protestant, northerner vs...
...This measure will only eliminate those programs which discriminate against people or grant them preferential treatment on the basis of their race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin...
...Indeed, the charge has been described as “quite simply ludicrous” by a respected pro-preference journalist, and was rejected outright by a judge who recently ruled on the [proposition’s] ballot label, title, and summary...
...A brief review of the text of the initiative will confirm this for you...
...Although I wish that historians of future generations could conclude that you and I were soldiers in the same army on this issue, history will not be so recorded, as they judge our respective positions...
...I do not contend that racism no longer exists in this nation...
...Frankly, I wanted to see if you had revised pages 607 and 608 of your hardbound version, in view of the inconsistency between those pages [in which Powell criticizes preferential treatment based on race—Ed.] and your now-famous Bowie State University commencement address [in which Powell praised such remedies—Ed...
...rural resident, old vs...
...As I strolled the aisles of the bookstore, trying to navigate a course around the endless displays of your book, I saw Denzel Washington’s face on the cover of a current edition of People magazine and Oprah Winfrey’s on Redbook...
...southerner, city-dweller vs...
...Black Americans like Johnson and Lewis are succeeding all over the country, every day, in small ways and in great...
...You have not served us well by your contribution to this debate...
...On the other hand, if all goes well on November 5, 1996, my children and grandchildren, and those of my fellow Californians, will have a Constitution which includes a reaffirmation of that principle which you espoused in your book: “Discrimination ‘for’ one group means, inevitably, discrimination ‘against’ another, and all discrimination is offensive...
...This afternoon, I purchased a paperback copy of your book, American Journey...
...After the cheers have faded from the convention hall in San Diego and the delegates have returned to their respective places, the people of California will still be confronted with the fundamental question of whether equal treatment for everyone or preferential treatment for some will be their policy...
...Perhaps the most significant contribution that we have made to America is the premium which our nation places on the civil rights of all Americans...
...As a bigger-than-life American hero, I guess you have earned the distinction implied by this engagement...
...There are innocent people who are being harmed by government-sanctioned discrimination, practiced in the name of diversity and affirmative action...
...I, on the other hand, believe that it is directly responsible for the culture of self-imposed segregation—separate social groups, separate student organizations, separate student lounges, separate student dormitories, separate graduation ceremonies, and separate alumni associations—which defines many of our college campuses...
...young—there have always been differences...
...While you continue to have my deepest admiration for your contributions to our nation, I would betray my entire being if I allowed my admiration for you to deter me from candidly telling you that your position( s) about this issue is (are) inconsistent and, with respect to Proposition 209, fundamentally inaccurate...
...While the band plays our national anthem, the American flag is being raised in honor of Johnson’s gold medal victory...
...The author of that book seemed to understand the unwelcome intrusion of preferential treatment, based on race, on the civil rights of Americans...
...however, when you decided as a resident of Virginia to use your stature to influence the outcome of a ballot initiative in California, you assumed an inherent obligation to be publicly accountable for the accuracy and consistency of your views...
...You contend that the nation should wait until “redlining” is eliminated, crime and poverty statistics are improved, and jail statistics are improved as well before black Americans are allowed to compete on an equal footing...
...To suggest that racial preferences are necessary or desirable at this point belittles their accomplishments...
...If that would disproportionately benefit blacks and Chicanos, so be it...
...These incidents illustrate how much black Americans are woven into the cloth of American life...
...We are no longer a vast group of outsiders looking in...
...They have a right to be...
...At the same time, Proposition 209 would give non-poor blacks and Chicanos the dignity of standing on their own two feet—a right that is now being paternalistically denied them...
...Black Americans can now sing with pride, “From California to the New York Island, from the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, this land was made for you and me...
...You evidence acceptance of this belief by the examples you cite of the “consequences of being black in America...
...It is reasonable to speculate that you will use the occasion to tell the American people why affirmative action preferences are good for us, and I have no doubt that you will be articulate...
...It would allow the state to give special consideration to the economically disadvantaged...
Vol. 1 • August 1996 • No. 47
