May 4, 2008 - The Detroit Free Press
They grew up in a crescent around Detroit, with some scattered inside the city like stars.
They grew up the children of immigrants, traversing two identities fraught with self-imposed barriers and subtle discrimination.
They grew up into a new consciousness, calling themselves what previous generations did not: Asian Americans.
Like no other generation before them, this wave of Asian Americans had access to college classes that examined their histories, courses that arose in the aftermath of a cataclysmic movement that started in Detroit. U.S. census data released last week showed that Asian Americans continue to be the fastest-growing ethnic group in Michigan, topping Latinos, the fastest-growing minority in the nation. And this generation, now in their 20s and 30s, is a huge reason why.
Their upbringing has been complex, veering from a near-shunning of identity toward a full embrace of what it means to be fully American and fully Asian.
Asian Pacific American Heritage month, which is celebrated in May, evolved from a 10-day observance in 1978 to a monthlong celebration in 1992 as members of this generation shaped their Asian-American experience.
"Our generation fought for all different things," said Stephanie Chang, 24, who was raised in Canton Township and lives in Detroit. "We're the first ones to have Asian-American studies in college. We're the first generation with resources to Asian-American organizations, and we're the first who are Pan-Asian. We're not just divided by ethnic groups that, while in Asia, went through centuries of all kinds of conflict."
All this was made possible by that now-iconic Detroit-based movement, one that began when a spurt of prejudice turned violent.
Finding a voice
In 1982, the baseball-bat slaying of Chinese American Vincent Chin on Woodward by two white autoworkers who mistook him for Japanese and their subsequent light sentencing -- neither served jail time -- set off a coalescing of Pan-Asian groups throughout metro Detroit and the nation.
Anger overcame fear, and Asian Americans found a voice.
"It really became a national movement, a civil rights movement, that had Detroit at its epicenter," said community activist Helen Zia, 55, who cofounded the American Citizens for Justice, whose mandate was to address what it saw as the unfairness in Chin's case. Zia, who now lives in California, later included her experience with the Chin case in her book, "Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People."
"It's amazing," Zia said, "but in some ways, because the Detroit community was so small and because it had such a strong civil rights history, it meant that people had to depend on each other. ... The community really stepped up and became a model around the country."
Booming generation
Even as tens of thousands of people leave metro Detroit, the Asian-American population has shot up by 38% in six years, according to U.S. census data reported for 2000 and 2006, to 141,550 people from 102,365.
Why? In large part, it's because the generation of identity-conscious Asian Americans has boomed. A 2002 study by Wayne State University showed that American-born Asians nationwide, particularly among Japanese, Chinese and Filipinos, are starting to outnumber the foreign-born.
The children of the large waves of Asian students and professionals who immigrated after the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 and the easing of immigration law and national quotas in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the thousands of southeast Asians who fled after the Vietnam War, have rapidly expanded the area's Asian population.
"The Asian-American population is enriching the metro Detroit area and changing our understanding of race so that it's not just black and white. It's contributing to the area's economic revival," said Frank Wu, the outgoing dean of the Wayne State University Law School. "These are people who are entrepreneurs and professionals."
"You're also finding that these are families that are settling in as part of the mainstream, so they're transforming our understanding of what the mainstream is," added Wu, author of "Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White."
Integration, assimilation
At less than 4% of metro Detroit's total population, Asian Americans still make up a small percentage of the area.
Growing up Asian American in metro Detroit is far removed from places like San Francisco, where one out of every three people is Asian, or like New York, where Asians can buy food in burgeoning Indian neighborhoods in Queens. Or even like Chicago, whose thriving old and new Chinatowns serve as an anchor to urban and suburban Asian Americans.
Asian Americans in metro Detroit often were the only Asians in their grade, if not the entire school. The result was a kind of de facto integration for Asian Americans.
"As a kid, you just wanted to fit in," Chang said. "All my friends were white, except on Saturdays."
That was the day Chang's mother made her go to Chinese school.
"It was like these double lives," she said, "and I never wanted them to intersect."
Elizabeth Chin, 35, who was born in Louisiana and grew up in West Bloomfield, found herself so enmeshed with her non-Asian friends that she nearly eschewed her Chinese Baptist church roots.
"Who I wanted to be was Jewish," said Chin, who now lives in Waterford. "I was Jewish. I really thought I was Jewish."
Ami Turner, 29, whose parents emigrated from Gujarat, India, was born in Detroit and grew up in Sterling Heights with mostly white and Arab-American classmates.
"I had fairly fair skin and dark hair, and a lot of people thought I was Arabic," she said. "When I first went to high school, all the Arabics had their own little groups, and they thought I was Arabic, so they hung out with me. And then when they found out I wasn't, I got phased out."
Wu, 40, grew up in Canton Township doing everything he could to forget who he was.
"Every kid has to make a deal, and the deal goes like this: 'If you become like us, we'll accept you as an equal. If you don't, we'll reject you,' " said Wu of Detroit. "So I accepted the idea. I assimilated. "
Sparring stereotypes
Despite attempts to fit in, a pervasive experience for all Asian Americans means coping with derogatory remarks about race.
Chang endured a nickname of "Shanghai" from a mean-spirited classmate, even though she was born in Canton Township and her parents emigrated from Taiwan. She still cringes when the first thing she's asked is, "Where are you from?" with the follow-up of "Where are you really from?" when people are not satisfied when she answers "Detroit."
"People ask over and over," she said. "It's like the answer has to be a certain country. We're the perpetual foreigner."
Al Itchon, 38, of Clinton Township grew up in East Detroit, now known as Eastpointe. His parents emigrated from the Philippines, but "everyone thinks I'm Chinese." Growing up, he said, "there was one other person who was Asian, and everyone always thought we were cousins."
Chin, whose mother immigrated from Hong Kong but whose father and paternal grandmother were born in the United States, still has to deal with people who come up to her and strike fighting stances.
"I don't know Kung Fu!" she said, and referencing another stereotype, adds: "I'm not that stinkin' smart!"
Culture, identify, experience
Somewhere in the lives of these second-generation Asian Americans, usually in their teens and 20s, something formative happens that makes them acculturate -- not into American culture but into Asian-American culture.
Soh Suzuki, 29, was born in California, lived his elementary school years in Japan, and moved to Bloomfield Hills for high school because of his father's job.
His Asian-American awareness grew at Michigan State University, when he began incorporating Asian-American history and culture into his artwork for his major. He took an Asian-American anthropology class, learned about the repercussions of Vincent Chin's murder and started thinking about his own identity.
"I wasn't even sure if I could identify myself as an Asian American," said Suzuki, who now lives in Detroit. "There was a time even in college, when I saw myself as Japanese and as kind of an international student. But as I looked into how identity politics work, at some point, I came to a consensus within myself that American culture and American identity is very flexible. And so is the Asian-American experience."
After college, Suzuki cofounded the Detroit Asian Youth Project, which works with Asian-American kids who live in the city to help them explore their identities through art and oral history.
For Wu, the killing of Vincent Chin propelled him toward a lifelong exploration of Asian-American identity.
"That case made me realize that I had to do something," said Wu, who is working on a book about Chin's murder and aftermath. "It set me on the path to becoming a writer and a lawyer. Everything about my life changed because of that case. It gave me a sense that I wasn't alone. ... I saw that it was racial prejudice. As a kid, when you're taunted, you think, 'Maybe it's me.' You see a case so blatant and so clear that you say, 'Wait a minute, it's not me. It's much bigger than me.' "
Elizabeth Chin remembers feeling fear at the Chin murder, especially because she shares a last name (but no relation). It also was an awakening of her identity.
"It brought to my attention that I was Asian," says Chin, who was 10 at the time. "Before, I had never thought about it. I was just this kid going to school. The color TV was really turned on."
Holding tight to heritage
Chin now sees herself as a bridge, using Cantonese to help first-generation Asians gain access to things like retirement benefits in her job as claims representative with the Social Security Administration. She and Chang, who completed an Asian/Pacific Islander Studies American minor made available a few years before her arrival at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, are working with APIAVote, which helps register Asian Americans in metro Detroit to vote. They envision the rapidly growing Asian community as an increasingly influential voting bloc, especially in a swing state like Michigan.
Turner has hung onto her heritage through 21 years of Indian dancing with the group Nadanta, something her parents encouraged her do to preserve a cultural connection.
"I'm very proud of being Indian," she said "That's what Nadanta taught us: 'Don't hide who you are.' "
It's something she has started passing onto her 23-month-old son, Rohan, and 4-month-old daughter, Isabella, who are their own genre of Asian American: Hapa, a term referring to multiracial Asians. It sometimes serves as an acronym for Half Asian Pacific American.
Turner's husband, Andy, is caucasian and Catholic, but she has preserved her Hindu beliefs, speaks Gujariti and Hindi, and has started passing down a mash of everything to her kids -- Christmas and Diwali, naan and hamburgers -- assembling the accoutrements that will shape them as Asian Americans.
Contact ERIN CHAN DING at 313-222-6696 or echan@freepress.com.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Rev. Wright reflects how color echoes perceptions
April 29, 2008
The Detroit News
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. is not the only person I know of who believes AIDS was concocted by our government, but he's the only one of them in heavy rotation on CNN.
To me, and most likely to you, the concept is well north of ridiculous -- that the virus was released as a way to rein in minority populations. But if you're Wright, and you're familiar with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in which nearly 400 black men weren't treated for the disease or even told they had it, maybe it's not such a stretch.
I didn't catch Wright's speech Sunday at the NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner in Detroit. I've heard him before, though, in smaller settings -- as a groomsman and a mourner.
He's a key figure in the life of a key figure in mine. He is charismatic and inspiring and entertaining, even at a funeral. And he is black, which means that sometimes, he and I might look at the same set of facts and circumstances and see completely different things.
That's not to say every African American thought O.J. Simpson was innocent, and every Caucasian wanted to reopen Alcatraz for him. But if you've been pulled over enough times for being a black male at the wheel of a car in a white neighborhood, maybe it's easier to believe that dozens of people from assorted city departments who'd mostly never met one another all conspired to try to frame a former football star.
In short: Sometimes, color colors perception, the same way geography and economic level and religion do. There's no sense pretending it doesn't, and we'll all be better off if we try to take that into account.
We'd also be well served to consider context. When Wright damned the USA in that sermon we keep hearing snippets of, he wasn't cursing us from sea to shining sea. He was cursing specific practices and policies, as he sees them, and as most of us do, at least under our breath on April 15.
He just did his damning with a bigger audience, an enormous choir, and a multicolored robe and stole that quite frankly, most of us couldn't pull off.
As Wright pointed out Monday before a conference in Washington, D.C., he spent six years in the military. That puts him six years ahead of me and Dick Cheney combined, and it should buy him some latitude from the people who question his patriotism.
He's also been called a racist, a characterization my friend Von strongly disputes.
Von is a member of the congregation Wright built in Chicago -- Trinity United Church of Christ. In a body that describes itself as unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian, Von is undeniably white.
His wife is black, and shortly after they became engaged 26 years ago, she had second thoughts. How could someone committed to black social causes, the activist daughter of pioneering activist parents, marry a white man? She broke things off.
Her pastor, Jeremiah Wright Jr., heard about her decision and summoned her to the church.
Racial divisions are unacceptable, he told her. Race is not a criterion God accepts as a basis for evaluating a human being. There can be no racial progress unless people are willing to break through barriers, and what better reason could there be to bulldoze one than love?
A few months later, he married them, and last summer, he presided over her father's funeral. It was a low-key service, by his standards. By the standards of a Grosse Pointe Presbyterian, it was probably raucous. Again: sometimes color colors.
As I sat in Wright's stunning church, I thought back to joy and revelry at Von's wedding reception, a quarter-century before.
To a black person, I realized, I'm probably a bad dancer. To a white person ...
Well, I'm a bad dancer. But at least it's good to find common ground.
Reach Neal Rubin at (313) 222-1874 or nrubin@detnews.com.
The Detroit News
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. is not the only person I know of who believes AIDS was concocted by our government, but he's the only one of them in heavy rotation on CNN.
To me, and most likely to you, the concept is well north of ridiculous -- that the virus was released as a way to rein in minority populations. But if you're Wright, and you're familiar with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in which nearly 400 black men weren't treated for the disease or even told they had it, maybe it's not such a stretch.
I didn't catch Wright's speech Sunday at the NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner in Detroit. I've heard him before, though, in smaller settings -- as a groomsman and a mourner.
He's a key figure in the life of a key figure in mine. He is charismatic and inspiring and entertaining, even at a funeral. And he is black, which means that sometimes, he and I might look at the same set of facts and circumstances and see completely different things.
That's not to say every African American thought O.J. Simpson was innocent, and every Caucasian wanted to reopen Alcatraz for him. But if you've been pulled over enough times for being a black male at the wheel of a car in a white neighborhood, maybe it's easier to believe that dozens of people from assorted city departments who'd mostly never met one another all conspired to try to frame a former football star.
In short: Sometimes, color colors perception, the same way geography and economic level and religion do. There's no sense pretending it doesn't, and we'll all be better off if we try to take that into account.
We'd also be well served to consider context. When Wright damned the USA in that sermon we keep hearing snippets of, he wasn't cursing us from sea to shining sea. He was cursing specific practices and policies, as he sees them, and as most of us do, at least under our breath on April 15.
He just did his damning with a bigger audience, an enormous choir, and a multicolored robe and stole that quite frankly, most of us couldn't pull off.
As Wright pointed out Monday before a conference in Washington, D.C., he spent six years in the military. That puts him six years ahead of me and Dick Cheney combined, and it should buy him some latitude from the people who question his patriotism.
He's also been called a racist, a characterization my friend Von strongly disputes.
Von is a member of the congregation Wright built in Chicago -- Trinity United Church of Christ. In a body that describes itself as unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian, Von is undeniably white.
His wife is black, and shortly after they became engaged 26 years ago, she had second thoughts. How could someone committed to black social causes, the activist daughter of pioneering activist parents, marry a white man? She broke things off.
Her pastor, Jeremiah Wright Jr., heard about her decision and summoned her to the church.
Racial divisions are unacceptable, he told her. Race is not a criterion God accepts as a basis for evaluating a human being. There can be no racial progress unless people are willing to break through barriers, and what better reason could there be to bulldoze one than love?
A few months later, he married them, and last summer, he presided over her father's funeral. It was a low-key service, by his standards. By the standards of a Grosse Pointe Presbyterian, it was probably raucous. Again: sometimes color colors.
As I sat in Wright's stunning church, I thought back to joy and revelry at Von's wedding reception, a quarter-century before.
To a black person, I realized, I'm probably a bad dancer. To a white person ...
Well, I'm a bad dancer. But at least it's good to find common ground.
Reach Neal Rubin at (313) 222-1874 or nrubin@detnews.com.
Healing Racism Group Looks Back On 10 Years
April 28, 2008
Grand Rapids Business Journal
GRAND RAPIDS — Nearly 10 years ago, Bob Woodrick — the son of Roy Woodrick, who is the “W” of the D&W grocery store chain — was part of a panel that had a question. And in September 1997, the answer to that question, regarding this area’s diversity commitment, led the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce to form the Institute for Healing Racism.
The importance of cultural diversity came “through an awareness from Bob Woodrick,” said Sonya Hughes, vice president of Diversity Initiatives and Programs for the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. “He brought it to the chamber and started having a conversation about cultural diversity and also the impact race has on individuals and employees and the community.”
The Chamber put together a survey on the topic that revealed employers were looking for help to address the issue of racism. In response, the Chamber created the Institute for Healing Racism, which has since served more than 150 companies and more than 1,600 individuals.
Hughes said that out of those who responded to a later survey, 58 respondents said their organizations had strategies in place to implement what was learned at the Institute for Healing Racism.
To read the full article, click here.
Grand Rapids Business Journal
GRAND RAPIDS — Nearly 10 years ago, Bob Woodrick — the son of Roy Woodrick, who is the “W” of the D&W grocery store chain — was part of a panel that had a question. And in September 1997, the answer to that question, regarding this area’s diversity commitment, led the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce to form the Institute for Healing Racism.
The importance of cultural diversity came “through an awareness from Bob Woodrick,” said Sonya Hughes, vice president of Diversity Initiatives and Programs for the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. “He brought it to the chamber and started having a conversation about cultural diversity and also the impact race has on individuals and employees and the community.”
The Chamber put together a survey on the topic that revealed employers were looking for help to address the issue of racism. In response, the Chamber created the Institute for Healing Racism, which has since served more than 150 companies and more than 1,600 individuals.
Hughes said that out of those who responded to a later survey, 58 respondents said their organizations had strategies in place to implement what was learned at the Institute for Healing Racism.
To read the full article, click here.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Regional human rights group hopes to help state Detroit
CEO settles in at Michigan Roundtable
April 22, 2008 - Detroit Free Press
Whether it came from working at an auto plant as a college student or his early work as a defense attorney, Thomas Costello learned to appreciate other people's backgrounds.
He's seen how other people live.
"I've never seen the differences," said the 54-year-old Grosse Pointe Park resident. "Rather naively, I say, I see people as people. Why can't other people do that?"
He's hoping that with some discussion and education, they will.
"People have to view diversity not as a threat but as a benefit," said Costello, the new president and chief executive officer of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion.
The mission of the organization is to reduce discrimination and racism and its roots in southeast Michigan go back to 1941.
Costello was appointed by the group's board of directors and started his new role in March. He said diversity adds creativity and energy to communities, schools and workforces.
The area's immigrants built vehicles and helped incorporate language classes at schools. They brought experiences and traditions from their cultures to music, literature and art and developed software solutions and technology for companies like Compuware, where Costello spent 23 years as general counsel.
Costello, a board member for about three years before his appointment, said he sees efforts to bridge ethnic and cultural divides in the region. For example, high school students are working to create an inclusive environment in their schools by forming diversity clubs.
He hopes more people will become interested in replicating the roundtable's work.
Costello is spending his first 100 days talking with school and religious leaders, board members and civic and community leaders about their concerns. He hopes to make the roundtable a statewide group and spread its programs, with the help of grants from private foundations.
Costello's experience with implementing diversity programs at Compuware makes him a good fit for the job, said Bruce Nyberg, 62, of Birmingham, a vice chairman on the roundtable board of directors.
"Human rights organizations are not simple organizations," he said. "They're quite complicated when you're trying to change the human fabric for the better. He understands that."
Marc Siegler, cochair of the Lakes Area Community Diversity Council and a Walled Lake Board of Education trustee, said Costello's idea of taking the roundtable statewide would be beneficial.
"We have a lot of people who have not had the ability or opened up their eyes to people from other parts of the world," Siegler said.
Contact CHRISTINA HALL at 586-826-7265 or chall@freepress.com.
April 22, 2008 - Detroit Free Press
Whether it came from working at an auto plant as a college student or his early work as a defense attorney, Thomas Costello learned to appreciate other people's backgrounds.
He's seen how other people live.
"I've never seen the differences," said the 54-year-old Grosse Pointe Park resident. "Rather naively, I say, I see people as people. Why can't other people do that?"
He's hoping that with some discussion and education, they will.
"People have to view diversity not as a threat but as a benefit," said Costello, the new president and chief executive officer of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion.
The mission of the organization is to reduce discrimination and racism and its roots in southeast Michigan go back to 1941.
Costello was appointed by the group's board of directors and started his new role in March. He said diversity adds creativity and energy to communities, schools and workforces.
The area's immigrants built vehicles and helped incorporate language classes at schools. They brought experiences and traditions from their cultures to music, literature and art and developed software solutions and technology for companies like Compuware, where Costello spent 23 years as general counsel.
Costello, a board member for about three years before his appointment, said he sees efforts to bridge ethnic and cultural divides in the region. For example, high school students are working to create an inclusive environment in their schools by forming diversity clubs.
He hopes more people will become interested in replicating the roundtable's work.
Costello is spending his first 100 days talking with school and religious leaders, board members and civic and community leaders about their concerns. He hopes to make the roundtable a statewide group and spread its programs, with the help of grants from private foundations.
Costello's experience with implementing diversity programs at Compuware makes him a good fit for the job, said Bruce Nyberg, 62, of Birmingham, a vice chairman on the roundtable board of directors.
"Human rights organizations are not simple organizations," he said. "They're quite complicated when you're trying to change the human fabric for the better. He understands that."
Marc Siegler, cochair of the Lakes Area Community Diversity Council and a Walled Lake Board of Education trustee, said Costello's idea of taking the roundtable statewide would be beneficial.
"We have a lot of people who have not had the ability or opened up their eyes to people from other parts of the world," Siegler said.
Contact CHRISTINA HALL at 586-826-7265 or chall@freepress.com.
Monday, April 21, 2008
My View: State needs dialogue about discrimination
by Thomas Costello
Friday April 18, 2008
Saginaw News
The people of Michigan recognize that racial and ethnic discrimination is a reality in today's society, and probably will be for many years to come, according to a new survey conducted for the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.
The question now before Michigan is how to overcome this reality, particularly in the wake of voters' decisions in 2006 to eliminate public affirmative action involving race and gender.
Our survey of 500 persons throughout the state, conducted by Mitchell Research in March, found that only 30 percent of white voters and 21 percent of African American voters said they believe that racial discrimination is rare or a thing of the past. More than half of African American voters said they believe discrimination happens "all of the time" or "frequently," as do 31 percent of white voters.
Asked when they thought we would achieve racial equality, only 14 percent of whites and 5 percent of African Americans said that "we have it now." Nearly a third -- 29 percent -- of both African Americans and whites said we will "never" achieve racial equality, and 18 percent of whites and 34 percent of African Americans said it will happen "in 100 years." (Complete survey results available at Miroundtable.com.)
The Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion does not accept that answer. That we might never achieve racial equality is unthinkable -- that it would take 100 years is equally intolerable.
The 2006 passage of Proposal 2 eliminated one of the tools that has worked most effectively in overcoming discrimination, affirmative action at the state and local government level.
Some now suggest that we simply should ignore race and gender discrimination in our society. They would have us believe that hard work and a good attitude is sufficient to overcome discrimination. Our poll shows this is nonsense.
Here at the Michigan Roundtable we believe that race -- and gender, and religion, and sexual preference, and disabilities -- do matter. And that the more we think and talk about these matters, recognize the ways that they affect our thinking and behavior, both consciously and unconsciously, and then take action, the better our chances of overcoming discrimination now -- not in 100 years.
In recent days the Michigan Roundtable has joined with Michigan United, the statewide educational group that was formed prior to the Proposal 2 campaign to educate people about affirmative action and discrimination. We held a statewide conference March 25 in Lansing, bringing together more than 400 people interested in expanding the dialogue about discrimination and how to overcome it in our state.
At that conference, we heard Michigan demographic expert Kurt Metzger describe how our state is becoming more diverse. That can be an asset, as business leaders know, because the flat-world economy we operate in puts a premium on a diverse work force. But it can become a detriment if we ignore the fact that discrimination is still an important part of the fabric of our state.
We now have begun an ambitious campaign to promote dialogue on race relations and other areas of social equity throughout the state -- one neighborhood at a time, one school at a time, one workplace at a time, one community at a time.
We believe, and our experience has shown, that structured, results-oriented dialogue works. If your community has not started that dialogue, it is time to start today.
If you need help or ideas, please contact the Michigan Roundtable at www.miround table.org. We can't wait 100 years to address the discrimination that Michigan citizens say is too often a part of life in our state.
Thomas Costello is president and chief executive officer of the Detroit-based Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.
Friday April 18, 2008
Saginaw News
The people of Michigan recognize that racial and ethnic discrimination is a reality in today's society, and probably will be for many years to come, according to a new survey conducted for the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.
The question now before Michigan is how to overcome this reality, particularly in the wake of voters' decisions in 2006 to eliminate public affirmative action involving race and gender.
Our survey of 500 persons throughout the state, conducted by Mitchell Research in March, found that only 30 percent of white voters and 21 percent of African American voters said they believe that racial discrimination is rare or a thing of the past. More than half of African American voters said they believe discrimination happens "all of the time" or "frequently," as do 31 percent of white voters.
Asked when they thought we would achieve racial equality, only 14 percent of whites and 5 percent of African Americans said that "we have it now." Nearly a third -- 29 percent -- of both African Americans and whites said we will "never" achieve racial equality, and 18 percent of whites and 34 percent of African Americans said it will happen "in 100 years." (Complete survey results available at Miroundtable.com.)
The Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion does not accept that answer. That we might never achieve racial equality is unthinkable -- that it would take 100 years is equally intolerable.
The 2006 passage of Proposal 2 eliminated one of the tools that has worked most effectively in overcoming discrimination, affirmative action at the state and local government level.
Some now suggest that we simply should ignore race and gender discrimination in our society. They would have us believe that hard work and a good attitude is sufficient to overcome discrimination. Our poll shows this is nonsense.
Here at the Michigan Roundtable we believe that race -- and gender, and religion, and sexual preference, and disabilities -- do matter. And that the more we think and talk about these matters, recognize the ways that they affect our thinking and behavior, both consciously and unconsciously, and then take action, the better our chances of overcoming discrimination now -- not in 100 years.
In recent days the Michigan Roundtable has joined with Michigan United, the statewide educational group that was formed prior to the Proposal 2 campaign to educate people about affirmative action and discrimination. We held a statewide conference March 25 in Lansing, bringing together more than 400 people interested in expanding the dialogue about discrimination and how to overcome it in our state.
At that conference, we heard Michigan demographic expert Kurt Metzger describe how our state is becoming more diverse. That can be an asset, as business leaders know, because the flat-world economy we operate in puts a premium on a diverse work force. But it can become a detriment if we ignore the fact that discrimination is still an important part of the fabric of our state.
We now have begun an ambitious campaign to promote dialogue on race relations and other areas of social equity throughout the state -- one neighborhood at a time, one school at a time, one workplace at a time, one community at a time.
We believe, and our experience has shown, that structured, results-oriented dialogue works. If your community has not started that dialogue, it is time to start today.
If you need help or ideas, please contact the Michigan Roundtable at www.miround table.org. We can't wait 100 years to address the discrimination that Michigan citizens say is too often a part of life in our state.
Thomas Costello is president and chief executive officer of the Detroit-based Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
LAST NIGHT'S EDUCATION DEBATE.
April 17, 2008
TAPPED Blog
One of the more interesting moments of the debate last night was the conversation about affirmative action, in which both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton said they supported the inclusion of poor white children in the group of people who benefit from college admission preferences. The truth, though, is that most elite colleges already consider class alongside race as they try to diversify their student bodies. Enshrining this concept across the board is a good idea, but only if it is accompanied by a real commitment to racial diversity, as well.
That commitment is under threat this year, as voters in five more states (Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma) will be asked to either accept or reject ballot initiatives, crafted by the infamous Ward Connerly, that would roll back all affirmative action. While Clinton made a smart move last night in using the affirmative action question as a chance to pivot into a larger discussion of education reform, it's important to remember that banning affirmative action affects a lot more than just college admissions. It would outlaw state programs that help women and minority business owners apply for government contracts, as well as after-school programs that introduce girls of color to science and technology careers.
Clinton's statement was helpful, though, in that it reminded us that endlessly debating affirmative action -- a policy that can boast of real successes, although it should be tweaked -- is really a distraction from addressing the troubles facing our K-12 and higher education systems. She said:
I think we've got to have affirmative action generally to try to give more opportunities to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds -- whoever they are. That's why I'm a strong supporter of early childhood education and universal pre-kindergarten.
That's why I'm against No Child Left Behind as it is currently operating. And I would end it, because we can do so much better to have an education system that really focuses in on kids who need extra help.
That's why I'm in favor of much more college aid, not these outrageous predatory student loan rates that are charging people I've met, across Pennsylvania, 20, 25, 28 percent interest rates. Let's make college affordable again.
--Dana Goldstein
TAPPED Blog
One of the more interesting moments of the debate last night was the conversation about affirmative action, in which both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton said they supported the inclusion of poor white children in the group of people who benefit from college admission preferences. The truth, though, is that most elite colleges already consider class alongside race as they try to diversify their student bodies. Enshrining this concept across the board is a good idea, but only if it is accompanied by a real commitment to racial diversity, as well.
That commitment is under threat this year, as voters in five more states (Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma) will be asked to either accept or reject ballot initiatives, crafted by the infamous Ward Connerly, that would roll back all affirmative action. While Clinton made a smart move last night in using the affirmative action question as a chance to pivot into a larger discussion of education reform, it's important to remember that banning affirmative action affects a lot more than just college admissions. It would outlaw state programs that help women and minority business owners apply for government contracts, as well as after-school programs that introduce girls of color to science and technology careers.
Clinton's statement was helpful, though, in that it reminded us that endlessly debating affirmative action -- a policy that can boast of real successes, although it should be tweaked -- is really a distraction from addressing the troubles facing our K-12 and higher education systems. She said:
I think we've got to have affirmative action generally to try to give more opportunities to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds -- whoever they are. That's why I'm a strong supporter of early childhood education and universal pre-kindergarten.
That's why I'm against No Child Left Behind as it is currently operating. And I would end it, because we can do so much better to have an education system that really focuses in on kids who need extra help.
That's why I'm in favor of much more college aid, not these outrageous predatory student loan rates that are charging people I've met, across Pennsylvania, 20, 25, 28 percent interest rates. Let's make college affordable again.
--Dana Goldstein
Carpetbaggers Wanted
04/15/2008
STL Today
Ward Connerly, the California-based anti-affirmative action crusader, is looking for "circulators" willing to travel to Missouri "to earn big bucks" collecting signatures on his petitions to end affirmative action programs here.
In an e-mail posted Friday in a blog on the National Review Online, Mr. Connerly says opponents of his deceptively named Missouri Civil Rights Initiative "are going to extremes to stop petitioners; including intimidation, screaming and stealing petitions." He asks that anyone wanting to help the petition drive "call to find out how you can have your travel expenses covered. Circulators have the potential to earn $1,000 per week (going rate $1.25 per signature collected)."
Boy, there's a grass-roots effort for you. A guy from California e-mails a New York-based conservative website trying to recruit a couple dozen more carpetbaggers to join his false flag operation. Things must not be going too well. Good.
Mr. Connerly, an African-American business executive, rose to prominence in 1995 when, as a member of the University of California Board of Regents, he led a successful anti-affirmative action drive in his home state. Since then, he has tried, with varying degrees of success, to expand his efforts into other states. Missouri was one of five states targeted this year. Last week, the organization dropped its effort in Oklahoma when the secretary of state's office there found too many duplicate signatures on petitions.
To get his amendment on the ballot in Missouri in November, Mr. Connerly must collect about 140,000 valid signatures across at least six of the state's nine congressional districts before May 4.
Mr. Connerly's effort in Missouri is opposed by a coalition of good government, civil rights and business organizations. They say that his group not only is deceptively named, but that it also would cause great harm to the state's business climate. Affirmative action doesn't guarantee anyone a job, merely the chance to compete fairly for a job.
If one of Mr. Connerly's carpetbaggers asks you to sign a petition "ensuring civil rights," just say no and wish him a nice trip back to wherever he came from.
STL Today
Ward Connerly, the California-based anti-affirmative action crusader, is looking for "circulators" willing to travel to Missouri "to earn big bucks" collecting signatures on his petitions to end affirmative action programs here.
In an e-mail posted Friday in a blog on the National Review Online, Mr. Connerly says opponents of his deceptively named Missouri Civil Rights Initiative "are going to extremes to stop petitioners; including intimidation, screaming and stealing petitions." He asks that anyone wanting to help the petition drive "call to find out how you can have your travel expenses covered. Circulators have the potential to earn $1,000 per week (going rate $1.25 per signature collected)."
Boy, there's a grass-roots effort for you. A guy from California e-mails a New York-based conservative website trying to recruit a couple dozen more carpetbaggers to join his false flag operation. Things must not be going too well. Good.
Mr. Connerly, an African-American business executive, rose to prominence in 1995 when, as a member of the University of California Board of Regents, he led a successful anti-affirmative action drive in his home state. Since then, he has tried, with varying degrees of success, to expand his efforts into other states. Missouri was one of five states targeted this year. Last week, the organization dropped its effort in Oklahoma when the secretary of state's office there found too many duplicate signatures on petitions.
To get his amendment on the ballot in Missouri in November, Mr. Connerly must collect about 140,000 valid signatures across at least six of the state's nine congressional districts before May 4.
Mr. Connerly's effort in Missouri is opposed by a coalition of good government, civil rights and business organizations. They say that his group not only is deceptively named, but that it also would cause great harm to the state's business climate. Affirmative action doesn't guarantee anyone a job, merely the chance to compete fairly for a job.
If one of Mr. Connerly's carpetbaggers asks you to sign a petition "ensuring civil rights," just say no and wish him a nice trip back to wherever he came from.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)