Affirmative-Action Ban Stands in Michigan: Who Can Stop Ward Connerly?

Federal Judge David Lawson dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new voter-approved constitutional amendment in Michigan that bans affirmative action in state public contracting, employment and education, reports The Detroit News. The amendment--crafted by longtime affirmative-action foe Ward Connerly, who is currently waging campaigns to ban affirmative action in five states this November--passed in November 2006. Many affirmative-action groups and state political officials have protested the allegedly duplicitous and illegal means by which Connerly's petitioners secured enough signatures to get it on the ballot. In court, Lawson said the plaintiffs failed to prove that the amendment was created to target minorities. Read "The Business Case for Affirmative Action" in the April 2007 issue of DiversityInc magazine to get insight from participants in both camps, including Ward Connerly, about this very important subject.

Connerly and others say we live in a "colorblind" society and perceive affirmative action as being an unfair advantage for Blacks. That rhetoric cost Sen. Hillary Clinton's former staff member Geraldine Ferraro her campaign job when she suggested Sen. Barack Obama is where he is because he's Black. Read Lucky to Be Black? Obama Attack Costs Ferraro Campaign Job to get the full story.

DiversityInc provides you weekly updates on Connerly's campaigns to end affirmative action in five states. Read Affirmative-Action News: Ward Connerly's Tactics Sparking Protests to get up to speed

How to Close the Black/White Achievement Gap

Experts gathered to discuss how to decrease the Black/white achievement gap between U.S. students, suggesting solutions be based on scientific study and not heartfelt platitudes, reports The New York Times. Reward teachers based on their students' achievement gains, says Caroline Hoxby, professor of economics at Stanford and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Make sure Black students are completing a rigorous high-school core course of study because such study is the number one determinant of entry into and success in college--even if the grades earned in the tougher classes are mediocre, says Daniel Hurley, director of state relations and policy analysis at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. See what other experts suggested, and read Get Educated or Die to learn why closing the achievement gap is so important.

Financier Bails Out Undocumented Workers

Bob Hildreth, a Boston financier who made his millions trading Latin American debt, was "infuriated" at televised images of undocumented workers being shipped to Texas, so he decided to "pay back" what he had made from investing in Latin America by spending $200,000 to bail them out, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). "The raid broke families apart," Hildreth told the WSJ. "This was extremely un-American." Hildreth, who says he loves Latin America, was an economist with the International Monetary Fund, living in Bolivia in the 1980s. Later, after returning to the United States, he began trading in Latin American loans at Wall Street giants. He now runs his own small firm, International Bank Services, which buys and sells corporate debt. But Hildreth didn't put up all the bail. He asked families to share the cost through the legal-aid group GBLS. Hildreth told the WSJ the $200,000 tab "ended up being much more than I thought it would be." Read about the biggest cause of bias against Latinos and the "Business Case for Immigration" in the September 2007 issue of DiversityInc magazine.

Detroit Mayor Won't Resign Despite City-Council Plea

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