Michigan Smacks Down Affirmative Action

[Jcrowley]

Michigan Votes Down Affirmative Action

Michigan voters on Tuesday approved a ban on affirmative action at the state’s public colleges and in government contracting. The vote came despite opposition to the ban from most academic and business leaders in the state — and the history in which the University of Michigan played a key role in preserving the right of colleges to consider race as a factor in admissions.

Defenders of affirmative action had been encouraged in the campaign’s closing days by polls suggesting growing skepticism for the ban. But in the end, the ban won support from more than 58 percent of voters, according to unofficial results. Michigan thus followed a pattern in which some voters appear reluctant to tell pollsters of their opposition to affirmative action.

A CNN exit poll of Michigan voters suggested that the ban passed because of support from men. Sixty percent of men, but only 47 percent of women said that they backed the ban. By educational status, support for the ban was strongest among those who were college graduates, and opposition was strongest among those with postgraduate education. Among white voters, CNN found that 59 percent backed the ban, while only 14 percent of black voters did so.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/11/08/michigan

Moving forward into the 19th century.

[izzybeans]

1. I see the mantra of the white power movement has made it to the mainstream.

I can understand criticism of the program and a redefinition, but I'd be willing to wager that a good 90% of those 60% men (which if it includes all men, then it is most certainly much higher if it were changed to reference only white men) follow the "white populist" mentality of the majority has spoken without a hint of irony. "Moving foward into the 19th century", indeed.

[Jcrowley]

2. Race still divides U.S., census says

Race still divides U.S., census says
Disparities widening in incomes, education

By Stephen Ohlemacher
Associated Press
Published November 14, 2006


WASHINGTON -- Decades after the civil rights movement, racial disparities in income, education and home ownership persist and, by some measurements, are growing.

White households had incomes that were two-thirds higher than blacks and 40 percent higher than Hispanics last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.

White adults were also more likely than black and Hispanic adults to have college degrees and to own their own homes. They were less likely to live in poverty.

"Race is so associated with class in the United States that it may not be direct discrimination, but it still matters indirectly," said Dalton Conley, a sociology professor at New York University and the author of "Being Black, Living in the Red."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611140160nov14,1,6049966.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

Not that we needed a census to confirm this.

[QC]

3. Michigan is the most segregated state in the country.

This is hardly surprising.

http://www.mlui.org/print.asp?fileid=16480

[Erika]

4. I can imagine white men beating their breasts

declaring their superiority and yelling "Me he man Tarzan". Michigan says so.

Michigan is in for hard times.

[journalist3072]

5. Some info about how the affirmative action initiative was worded on the ballots in Michigan

Right before the election, Tom Joyner was talking about the affirmative action initiative that coming before the Michigan voters.

And specifically, he and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick talked about how the initiative was worded.

It was worded to make it seem like it was a PRO civil-rights initiative. And obviously it was not, since Ward Connelly and the Klu Klux Klan supported it.

And Tom kept trying to inform people that if they were FOR affirmative action, they needed to vote AGAINST the initiative.

I wonder if there was some confusion and if PRO-affirmative action voters thought they needed to vote YES. I wonder if that factered into the initiative passing at all.

[Rage for Order]

7. Here's the language used on the ballot

http://www.miaflcio.org/BallotInitiatives/affirmaction/index.htm

You may need to click on the "Ballot Language" button on the left hand side of the screen to bring it up.

On edit, I found another site where I could copy & paste the language

BALLOT LANGUAGE

A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO BAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS THAT GIVE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT TO GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS BASED ON THEIR RACE, GENDER, COLOR, ETHNICITY OR NATIONAL ORIGIN FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION OR CONTRACTING PURPOSES

The proposed constitutional amendment would:

• Ban public institutions from using affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes. Public institutions affected by the proposal include state government, local governments, public colleges and universities, community colleges and school districts.

• Prohibit public institutions from discriminating against groups or individuals due to their gender, ethnicity, race, color or national origin. (A separate provision of the state constitution already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.)

Should this proposal be adopted? YES or NO.

http://www.michigancivilrights.org/ballotlanguage.html

[gollygee]

10. These folks came to my house asking me to sign the petition

to get it on the ballot.

They said, "Will you sign a petition to end discrimination?"

Yep. But I knew what petition was making the rounds.

[Erika]

6. 5 People Shot in Detroit in 10 Minutes

Hate begets hate. At http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2658160

[Hot_Wheels_Dude]

8. oh puh-leeze.....

we're all just regular people here in Michigan, just like you'll find in any other state. We have people of all sorts and for the most part everyone gets along just fine. Like any other state in the union we have pockets of color and neighborhoods of nationality. That doesn't make us all a bunch of chest thumping bigoted he-men in favor of segregation and white superiority. Michigan is a wonderful state to live in with some of the best people you could ever hope to meet.
Reading some of the replies here felt like getting slapped in the face. Sure, we're a little down on our luck here the last few years but we're not a bunch of backwoods hillbillys yet (except the Yoopers LOL!)

The wording on the AA ballot was a little sketchy and it would have been very easy for people to cast their vote in the wrong direction. If we could put it back to a vote tomorrow with some straight up wording I'm sure it would go the other way. Something like this :

"Should the State of Michigan make life even easier for white people by discriminating against women and minorities?" Vote YES or NO

Now please, can we all go back to making fun of Florida again.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mainegreen]

11. It's time to switch to solely economics based affirmative action anyways.

Poverty is blind to race. I think the higher educational system has moved beyond institutionalized racism. Poor is poor.

[VelmaD]

12. have you ever seen the statistics...

on the percentages of minorities who live in poverty compared to the percentage of whites? Go do your homework and then come tell me poverty is blind to race.

[mainegreen]

13. Then economics based affirmative action would end up helping less whites and more blacks.

Economics based affirmative action is self adjusting to the situation. And try telling poor people of any race that we can't help you because your the wrong color.

It's offensive.

[VelmaD]

14. I didn't say not to help poor people of all races

I just pointed out that your statement was wrong. More blacks and Hispanics and Native Americans live in poverty than whites and the institutionalized racism in our society has made it more difficult for people in those groups to move up out of poverty. Yes, we have to address poverty for everyone or every race, but to pretend race isn't a factor that has to be addressed as well is to stick your head in the sand.