Clark -- Affirmative Action Works

http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/eclark24_20031024.htm


COMMENT: Success of military diversity proves affirmative action works

October 24, 2003





BY WESLEY CLARK




When I left the military and contemplated entering political life, many issues led me to find my political home in the Democratic Party. Affirmative action was one of the most important. This is an issue that Democrats both understand well and feel deeply. And, based on my experiences, I believe without hesitation that we Democrats are right in our belief that affirmative action is good for all Americans.

Growing up in Little Rock, I saw firsthand the ugly legacy of racial discrimination. After the local schools were closed because of the battle over desegregation, I had to go to a school in Tennessee for a year. For all of us in Little Rock, Central High School is a shrine to that struggle to end racial segregation. But the end of segregation did not mean the end of discrimination. Racial hatred has deep and pernicious roots in our nation's history. It is a cancer that needs to be cured, and affirmative action has been one of the most effective treatments.

He wrote an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in favor of affirmative action during the Michigan case.

This is good news.