 |  |
The N-word wasn't the only thing the
"I would like to see us bury the efforts of Ward Connerly," Granholm told the crowd, according to the Detroit News.
Despite the symbolic gesture and the cheering crowd, it's clear it'll take more than a eulogy to stop Connerly. Currently he is working to get anti-affirmative-action proposals on the ballots in
In response to Granholm's comment, Connerly said that she is "out of touch with reality," reports the Detroit News. "I don't know how much louder the citizens of
That vote, however, was a product of the deceptive message in which Connerly framed his so-called "Michigan Civil Rights Initiative" campaign, a message that, at least initially, had very little to do with affirmative action.
It's All in the Message
Let's not forget that controversy over ballot language was the premise of a state court battle that kept the proposal off the ballot in November 2004. The initial ballot language didn't even mention the word "affirmative action," which led the Board of Canvassers to re-write it before posing it to voters.
A recent study from the
Pew didn't break down results by state, but it's unlikely that regional attitudinal differences alone accounted for Connerly's successful campaign in
This "colorblind" message makes logical sense to the average white American, but its premise simply isn't rooted in reality. And new research shows that continuing to advocate such an approach could have devastating repercussions for racial equity.
Connerly's mentality may have been more aligned with social-psychology research of the 1980s and 1990s, which concluded that drawing attention to race would only exacerbate stereotypes and enhance prejudice. Times have changed.
"Recent advances within the fields of social psychology and sociology have demonstrated that the colorblind approach to race may be impractical, at best, and at worst harmful to the question for racial equity and interracial good will," according to "The Dangers of Not Speaking About Race," a presentation by Philip Mazzocco at the Kirwan Institute for Race & Ethnicity at Ohio State University.
New research shows that racial classification happens automatically, which means that colorblind approaches are ineffective. "Diverting attention away from race, it seems, is simply not possible," writes Mazzocco. "Efforts to minimize attention to race do not consistently reduce prejudice or discrimination."
Color-conscious programs that consider race as one factor along with socioeconomics or geography, for example, are a viable alternative. "Color-conscious approaches show promise in fostering an appreciation of another group's positive societal contributions, as well as structural constraints and advantages," writes Mazzocco. "Both of these factors should encourage support for programs such as affirmative action and may also be instrumental in the battle to reduce prejudice, discrimination and inter-group conflict."
More Affirmative Action News>>