NAACP To Participate In
Affirmative Action Rally on April 1
Nation's largest civil
rights group joins students and community leaders in support of University
Of Michigan's admissions plan
March 24, 2003 [posted here 3-26-03]
Received from the Presbyterian Washington
Office
Kweisi Mfume, President & CEO, National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), today said the
NAACP will join other civil rights, organized labor, religious, academic and
students leaders in a daylong rally April 1 in front of the Supreme Court in
Washington, D.C. to support the University of Michigan's affirmative action
plan.
Mfume said: "The Supreme Court has ruled
that the use of race, among other factors, in college admissions is
constitutional. Academic research has also proven that race conscious
admissions are the most effective method identified to increase racial
diversity in higher education. The NAACP calls on the Supreme Court to
defend educational opportunities and protect America's interest."
Moreover, Mfume said: "Affirmative action
has always been seen as a lawful means of remedying present and past
discrimination. It is still the right thing to do to level the playing field
and a proven way to increase diversity."
The NAACP joined friend of the court briefs
filed with other civil rights organizations in support of the University of
Michigan's affirmative action diversity program. The case, which will be
heard by the Supreme Court on April 1, asks that the Court include race as
one factor, among other factors, for qualified applicants to be
constitutionally justified. The request attempts to remedy the badges and
incidents of slavery, especially in educationally opportunities.
The rally will be held in Washington, D.C.,
at 1st Street, N.E. and Maryland Avenue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more
information, interested persons should call 410-580-5110 or log onto
www.naacp.org.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the
nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million
adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are
premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter
mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private
sectors.
For more information, contact: Elenora
Giddings Ivory, PC(U.S.A.)Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, NE, #104,
Washington, DC 20002. 202-543-1126, fax 202-543-7755. Email
eivory@ctr.pcusa.org
