Black students rally to defend affirmative action in Missouri
COLUMBIA, MO -- Speaking with urgency and warning of the return of segregation and a breakdown of civil rights since the 1960s, students and activists at the University of Missouri gathered yesterday against a state ballot initiative to make affirmative action illegal.
"Today we are here to say we have made a decision, and our decision is for equality," said Tristan Taylor, 24, an organizer of the group By Any Means Necessary, who drove with fellow organizers from Detroit to participate in the rally with MU students.
In 2007, the most high-profile advocate of the proposed "colorblind" constitutional amendment, Ward Connerly, helped pass a similar initiative in Michigan. Taylor and his coterie are intent on preventing Connerly’s initiative from passing in the five states he is now targeting: Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska and Missouri. MORE
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Why run a piece about students defending Affirmative Action
Someone asked me why I ran this piece about students defending Affirmative Action. Minority higher education students and minority contractors are two constituencies that benefit directly from Affirmative Action programs. Clearly, they also lose a lot when bans on Affirmative Action go into effect. (Minorities losing access to public construction in Michigan)
So it strikes me that these two constituencies are natural allies and have a vested interest in each other's efforts in this fight. It also follows that the fight for Affirmative Action would likely be substantially strengthened if they began to support each other and work together.