'Must I kill to get an education?'
Youth of color rally to defend affirmative action
By Julie Fry
Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 1 heard oral
arguments in two cases that could decide the fate of
affirmative action at universities and colleges throughout the
country.
Outside the court building, more than 50,000 demonstrators,
primarily Black and Latino youth, gathered to defend
affirmative action and fight for their right to quality
education.
The demonstrators--college and high school students, union
members, teachers and professors--came from all around the
country. Some of the largest delegations came from states that
have already experienced the effects of eliminating affirmative
action, such as California, Florida and Texas.
Students from these states spoke about the devastating
impact on youth of color. Erica Dowdell, a student at UCLA's
law school, spoke about the alarming drop in student-of-color
enrollment at the top universities in California since the
implementation of Proposition 209--the state referendum banning
affirmative action.
She explained that as a result, only two Black students are
graduating from the UCLA School of Law this year. Black
students now represent less than 1 percent of the student body.
According to BAMN (By Any Means Necessary), the organization
that initiated the demonstration, Black students accounted for
10.3 percent of students at UCLA law school in 1996, the year
before the proposition was instituted.
At Boalt Hall, the elite law school at UC-Berkeley, Filipino
enrollment has drop ped from an average of 13 students per year
to just three. The number of faculty women in the entire UC
system has fallen by 22 percent since Proposition 209.
The elimination of affirmative action in other states has
had similar effects. Latino enrollment at the University of
Texas law school has dropped by half. The results were the same
in Florida, where Gov. Jeb Bush banned affirmative action.
Racism: alive and well
Some of the most disturbing speeches at the April 1 rally
were from the few students who have managed to gain access to
institutions where affirmative action is now banned.
They spoke about the racist isolation and harassment many of
them face at their schools. The elimination of affirmative
action has apparently been used as a license for racists to
openly bully and har ass the remaining students of color.
Lacking a support network, many of these students have dropped
out. Others have been too discouraged to enroll.
Black and Latino high school students at the rally spoke
about the institutional racism they are subjected to at their
schools. Students from Cass Tech, a high school in Detroit--in
one of the poorest and most segregated school districts in the
country--described a rat- and roach-infested building with
ancient books and crumbling walls. Yet the overwhelmingly white
suburban schools nearby are among the richest and most highly
regarded public schools in the country.
The University of Michigan recruits more of its Black
students from Cass Tech than from any other high school. Right
now, U of M admits about 80 students from Cass Tech every year.
University officials predict this number will fall to 16 if
they are forced to eliminate affirmative action.
Fighting racism--here and abroad
The ANSWER coalition, which has been organizing large
anti-war protests, sent a contingent to the April 1
demonstration that was very well received by the
demonstrators.
Many recognized that the elimination of affirmative action
would force even more youth of color into joining the military
and fighting racist wars.
Protesters carried signs with messages such as "Send us to
school, not to war" and "Must I kill for Uncle Sam to get an
education?"
As George Bush proceeds with his racist aggression on the
Iraqi people, he has also found time to get involved in the
racist assault on affirmative action, sending his minions at
the Justice Department to the Supreme Court on April 1 to
support the law suit against the University of Michigan.
But the people's movement is capable of fighting on two
fronts, as well.
A decision is expected in this case by July. The anti-war
movement should be prepared to take up this struggle and fight
the racist agenda of the ruling class at home and abroad.
Reprinted from the April 24, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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