(4/25/98 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)
by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
The U.S. Supreme Court's 1892 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson upheld a "separate, but equal" doctrine that proved to be anything but equal for African Americans. Not until August 28, 1963, did black citizens of this nation begin to believe that equality could become a reality. On that day, more than a quarter of a million Americans of all ages, occupations, races and religions came to this nation's capital to demand full civil rights for African Americans. Dr. King’s "I Have a Dream" speech bounced off the walls of the Washington monuments that were built in remembrance of this country’s "founding fathers." Coupled with the accomplishments of many young participants in the civil rights movement, they stirred the conscience of this nation and the world.
In 1963, it was legal for blacks to be turned away by employers, restaurants, landlords or universities for no other reason than the color of their skin. One year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Johnson, codifying the country's strong moral opposition to racial discrimination and bigotry.
That landmark legislation was soon followed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited housing discrimination. The passage of each of these civil rights initiatives was a step in the direction of finding a solution to years of racial discrimination practiced throughout this country.
However, it would take years of struggle for the deeply-entrenched attitudes and practices that made African Americans second class citizens in their own country to begin to change. To initiate that change, it would not be enough for courts simply to rule that an employer or school was acting in a discriminatory manner under the civil rights laws. In fact, the black community required that judges fashion legal remedies to overcome the negative actions to which they had been subjected for centuries.
Those remedies were called "affirmative actions," a phrase first used by President Lyndon Johnson in his 1965 Executive Order 11246. That Order required federal contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." In 1967, President Johnson expanded the Executive Order to include affirmative action requirements to benefit women.
Affirmative action evolved into a set of public policies and initiatives designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Today, after a generation of progress, America's commitment to equal opportunity is at a crossroads. A well-financed, politically-powerful movement dedicated to ending affirmative action has made significant gains. Although its leaders claim they support equal opportunity, they have, in fact, launched a war against one of the fairest, most effective tools for promoting equal opportunity for all.
Affirmative action opponents say that the program is no longer necessary because discrimination is a thing of the past. While it is true that much progress has been made since the enactment of the Civil Rights Act and other legislation, it is also true that these laws have not changed centuries of discriminatory habits, customs and attitudes. As a result, many avenues of opportunity have remained narrow and constricted, available only to a relatively few.
Opponents also believe affirmative action forces employers to "give preference" to less-qualified minorities, even though employers and universities have always engaged in forms of "preferential treatment." Veterans as well as children of alumni historically have been given preference at certain institutions. It was only when race and gender became a factor in the effort to end discrimination did preferences become a problem.
Although white Americans complain of "reverse discrimination," only 1.7 percent of the 91,000 race-based charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have been filed by white males. Without affirmative action, employers with a history of discriminatory practices would continue "business as usual."
Despite progress, many barriers to full equality remain. By eliminating affirmative action programs in the workplace and in higher education, those barriers will continue to exist while old barriers will be reincarnated. A well-organized campaign to turn back the clock for millions of women and minorities in this country has already made significant progress. Women and minorities must become just as well-organized in order to put an end to this effort. We are not yet a society based on color-blindness and non-gender bias. Relinquishing the one tool we have to fight against racism and sexism must not be an option.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.