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FOIA Number:
2006-0469-F (2)
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting
Series/Staff Member:
Michael Waldman
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
14477
FoIderlD:
Folder Title:
UCSD [University of California at San Diego]: Misc. Race Research from MW [Michael Waldman]
Office [2]
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Section:
Shelf:
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1
�His beginning
1. What are the benefits of diversity
A) to be true to our ideals
B) the way the world works e.g. global economy
C) our influence around the world
2. What are the problems we now face
- what are the disparities in education]
- in crime - not only in who commits, but who's a victim
- little known facts (e.g., the
- continuing discrimination - he met Trotter group
3. What do we propose to do about it?
A) antidiscrimination
B) opportunit — e.g, education
C) dialogue... community action.
4. ENDING
Future ... next generation ... what I saw in my youth ... what you will see and the world
you will inherit.
�J
3
�miSLW^D "
1..'..!..'.. """^
CLINTON ADMINISTRATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS
HISPANIC AMERICANS
Economy
Vital economy. The economy has created 12.3 million new jobs during the Clinton
Administration — a faster annual rate of job growth (2.5 percent per year) than any Republican
Administration since the 1920s.
Declining unemployment. The unemployment rate for Hispanic Americans in May, 1997 was
7.4%, down from 11.3% when President Clinton first took office.
Minimum wage increase. The President raised the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour ~ directly
benefitting more than 1.6 million Hispanic American workers.
More small business assistance. Over 220,000 new Hispanic American-owned businesses were
created in the first three years of the Clinton Administration. The Small Business Administration
has approved more than 13,500 loans, totaling $2.2 billion, for Hispanic American business
owners, and has helped over 230,000 Hispanic Americans to receive management training and
counseling from a national network of business education and assistance programs.
Fighting for Equal Opportunity
Diverse Administration. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet and Administration in history.
Members of the Clinton Cabinet include three Hispanic Americans: Federico Pena, Secretary of
Energy; Bill Richardson, Ambassador to the United Nations; and Aida Alvarez, Administrator of
the Small Business Administration.
Senior level Administration appointments. Appointed more Hispanic Americans to senior
level positions than any President in American history, including Gilbert Casellas, Chairman of the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Significantly, these appointments are outside what
had been considered the "traditional" Hispanic areas of interest.
Reviewed affirmative action programs. Ordered a comprehensive review of the government's
affirmative action programs which concluded that affirmative action remains an effective and
important tool to expand education and economic opportunity to all Americans.
Opposed California Prop 209. Filed amicus briefs opposing California Proposition 209, which
would prohibit state affirmative action programs.
Election fairness. Prevented election day discrimination against minority voters and voter
intimidation and harassment by monitoring polling place activities in a record number of states and
counties. Continued enforcement efforts to ensure that citizens who rely on Spanish have the
same opportunities to participate in voting-related activities as English-speaking voters.
..
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�Opposed California Prop 187. Opposed California's Proposition 187, which would have made
illegal immigrants ineligible for public school education at all levels and ineligible for
public health care services, due to its detrimental impact on children and its threat to
public health.
Home mortgage lending on the rise. Since 1993 home mortgage lending to Hispanic Americans
increased nearly 48 percent.
Investigated discrimination. Authorized investigations into discrimination practices by lenders
and property insurers to help end discrimination in the provision of home mortgages.
Expanded Voting Rights. The Administration argued in federal court to expand the Voting
Rights Act and defended racially fair redistricting plans. Made voting easier for more than 11
million Americans by creating more accessible "motor-voter" registration locations. (National
Voter Registration Act)
Education
Hispanic advisory commission. Established an advisory commission to oversee the
improvement in education for Hispanics and to ensure that Hispanic-serving institutions will have
more input regarding educational goals and issues of concern to Hispanic Americans. (Executive
Order on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans) The Commission's report identified
contributing factors impacting attainment of educational excellence and corrective policy
recommendations and plans for program development and funding.
Student Diversity Partnership Program. Partnered with Hispanic Association of Colleges and
Universities, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, American Indian
Science and Engineering Society and the Center for the Advancement of Hispanics in Science and
Engineering Education to implement the Student Diversity Partnership Program to ensure an
adequate supply of diverse and qualified scientists and engineers for the 21st century.
AmeriCorps college support. Enabled 70,000 volunteers to earn money for college by serving
their communities and their country in the AmeriCorps program, with Hispanic Americans
comprising 15% of all participants. (National Service Act)
Bilingual education. Increased funding for the Office of Bilingual Education & Minority
Languages Affairs and opposed plans to abolish bilingual education.
Opposed ending education for undocumented immigrant children. Opposed congressional
efforts to deny the children of undocumented immigrants the right to an education.
Children and Families
Tax relief for working families. Provided tax relief for 15 million working families by increasing
�HIS1.WPD
Page 3 i
the Earned Income Tax Credit to allow more families to qualify for tax rebates. In 1995, the
EITC lifted nearly 900,000 Hispanic Americans, including almost 450,000 Hispanic children, out
of poverty.
Focused health efforts. Established the Office of the Minority Health Research and Alternative
Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Helped communities develop culturally-competent
systems for care for children with serious emotional disturbances through the Comprehensive
Mental Health Services for Children and Families program. Negotiated agreements with hospitals
and nursing homes to eliminate barriers to equal access for minorities based on language.
Increasing home ownership. Launched a program to increase the home ownership rate of
Hispanic Americans in the U.S. through advertising, education and counseling programs and by
working with lending institutions to better serve the Hispanic community.
Fair environmental safety. Issued an Executive Order on Environmental Justice, ensuring that
low income citizens and minorities do not suffer a disproportionate burden of industrial pollution.
Fighting Crime
White House Conference on Hate Crimes. President Clinton announced the first White House
Conference on Hate Crimes ~ to take a serious look at the laws and remedies that can make a
difference in preventing hate crimes; to highlight solutions that are working in communities across
the country, and to continue thefrankand open dialogue we need to build One America across all
difference and diversity.
Action against Hate Crimes. Filed 38 hate crime cases in FY96, involving 65 defendants.
Safe and Clean Environment
Environmental justice and redevelopment. Issued an Executive Order on Environmental
Justice, ensuring that low income citizens and minorities do not suffer a disproportionate burden
of industrial pollution. Identified 20 environmental justice pilot projects to be undertaken across
the country to redevelop contaminated sites in low-income communities and tum them into
useable space, creating jobs and enhancing community development.
Immigration
Naturalization. Made naturalization a top priority of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
in order to continue fostering legal immigration while combating illegal immigration. Naturalized
over one million individuals in 1996. The Administration continues to work to streamline and
improve the naturalization process so that eligible individuals who have played by the rules can
become full partners in America.
Responsible immigration reform. Worked to enact responsible immigration reform legislation
properly focused on immigration enforcement and opposed severe reductions in legal immigration
which were not consistent with pro-family, pro-worker and pro-naturalization principles.
�Defend immigrants rights. The Administration defeated legislative efforts which would have
significantly eroded health care for immigrants. The bipartisan agreement strengthened the
sponsorship requirement while preserving the basic ability of families to reunify.
American Leadership
Democracy for Cuba. Increased efforts to promote a peaceful, democratic transition in Cuba
including toughening sanctions following the brutal shoot down of U.S. civilian aircraft over
international waters and signing the Helms-Burton Act to penalize those who traffic in confiscated
properties in Cuba. Awarded a landmark $500,000 grant to Freedom House to assist human
rights activists in Cuba.
Support our closest neighbors. Took decisive action in assembling afinancialsupport package
for Mexico. The President's leadership prevented a prolongedfinancialcrisis in Mexico and its
spread to other Latin American countries.
�http://www.msnbc.com/news/76750.asp
' MS>7BC - A nation of immigrants is overrun
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Congress refuses to deal
with immigration problem
A nation of immigrants is overrun
Opinion
James O. Goldsborough
SPECIAL TO MSNBC
lof5
The recent Census Bureau report on America's
immigrant population is shocking, but no surprise. The
nation currently has a foreign-bom population of nearly
10 percent, the highest level since the 1930s.
Nearly all Americans, of course, descend from
ancestors who were foreign bom. That's not the issue.
The question is why we are accepting so many people
today — over 1 million per year — the highest
immigration rate in history.
America at the tum of this century is not what it
was at the turn of the last one. We are not driven by
"manifest destiny," seeking to fill up empty land grant
states or looking to furnish factory workers for a
growing manufacturing sector.
05/27/97 12:22:30
�MStfBC - A nation of immigrants is overrun
America at
the turn of
this century is
not what it
was at the
turn of the
last one. We
are not
driven by
'manifest
destiny.'
2 of 5
http://www.msnbc.com/news/76750.asp
If the U.S. foreign-born population has reached 10
percent, California's is an in credible 25 percent. Forty
percent of America's immigrants settle in California,
home to 8 million foreign-born people.
That might have been fine a century ago, or even a
half-century ago, but California does not need massive
immigrant labor today. Our farm industry, the main
magnet, has a labor surplus. The apparel industry, the
second magnet, employing 160,000 workers, is thinning
out as businesses move south of the border.
In February, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service released its estimate of illegal immigrants in
America: There are 5 million of them, 2 million in
California. Those figures are testimony to Congress'
failure to reform immigration law.
The Census Bureau's figures include both legal
and illegal immigrants, and what astonishes are the
gross numbers. More than a million new people a year
is well beyond previous U.S. highs in the first two
decades of this century. Neither of those decades
reached 10 million immigrants, the current rate.
Thefiguresdo not distinguish between legal and
illegal immigrants be cause the two are interrelated: 40
percent of illegal immigrants enter the country legally;
most illegal immigrants are eventually legalized; it is
impossible to control one without controlling the other.
Congress has let the country down badly on
immigration. A Wall Street Journal poll last year
showed that Americans favor, by 52 percent to 40
percent, a moratorium on both legal and illegal
immigration. Yet the 1996 immigration bill failed to
respond to either problem.
05/27/97 12:22:30
�http://www.msnbc.com/news/76750.asp
MSNBC - A nation of immigrants is overrun
Internet Sites
M N C not resDonsible ror content
SB
• Census Bureau Home Page
• Federation for American
Immigration Reform
• Immigration and
Naturalization Service
Website
• Modern U.S. Immigration
History
• Immigration-Related Web
Sites
9
Your Opinion
i E-mail the Opinion editor
3 of 5
The previous Congress was given the exhaustive
Jordan Commission report on immigration as a
blueprint for legislation. It proceeded to emasculate the
commission's recommendations on illegal immigration
and ignore its recommendations on legal immigration.
• On illegal immigration, Congress failed to create a
mandatory worker-identification system and failed to
give the INS power to conduct workplace inspections,
two essential ingredients for controlling illegal
immigration.
• On legal immigration. Congress ignored Jordan's
recommendation that quotas for immigrants and
refugees be lowered from 825,000 annually to 550,000.
The commission's recommendations on legal
immigration were carried in a bill by Sen. Alan
Simpson, R-Wyo., which was defeated. Simpson retired
from the Senate last year blasting his former colleagues
for "straining the fabric of the country" through their
inaction on immigration.
Congress' decision to keep immigration at historic
highs makes no economic, political or social sense.
While a handful of members may subscribe to House
Majority Leader Dick Armey's mistaken belief in open
borders and unlimited immigration, the mistake of most
members is to fail to understand how America has
changed between 1900, when our population was 76
million, and 2000, when it is 263 million.
05/27/97 12:22:30
�http://www.msnbc.com/news/76750.asp
MSNBC - A nation of immigrants is overrun
Armey's
argument is
economic:
The bigger
the nation, he
says, the
bigger the
economy.
That
argument
is bad
economics.
As for California, when a quarter of new
immigrants choose to settle here, adding pressures to a
state already half again more populous than the next
largest state, and with the difference widening,
Califomians have reasons for concern.
Armey's argument is economic: The bigger the
nation, he says, the bigger the economy. That argument
not only ignores the political and social reasons for
limiting immigration, but is bad economics.
If big meant good, China and India would have the
best economies, followed by Indonesia. Economies
improve not by increasing populations but by increasing
productivity, which means more investment and smarter
workers.
But U.S. immigration policy, based on family
reunification, does nothing to improve productivity.
According to the new study, new immigrants are far less
likely to have high school educations than native-born
Americans and are slightly more likely to go on welfare.
It is an accident that immigration has reached these
record levels today. It has not been the goal of policy.
The bonanza can be traced to the 1965 reform law,
which made family reunification (rather than country
quotas, biased toward Europe) the basis for
immigration.
The '65 law was not intended to open the
floodgates, but to establish a less Eurocentric basis for
immigration. In the 1950s, immigration had been
running at 250,000 a year. The '65 law nudged that
average to 330,000 in the 1960s. But the numbers
quickly went haywire.
The U.S. wars in Indochina turned family
reunification into a guaranteed ticket to America.
Further, the 1986 reform law legalized 3 million illegal
immigrants and enabled them to bring families. From
500,000 per year in the 1970s, immigration reached
730,000 per year in the 1980s and a million a year so far
in the 1990s. It shows no signs of abating.
This is Congress' doing. The '65 and '86 laws had
unintended consequences. The Jordan report stated what
must be done, just as polls show Americans know what
must be done. Congress sits on its hands.
James O. Goldsborough is foreign-affairs
columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
4of5
05/27/97 12:22:30
�RACE.TP3"2
Page 1
ONE AMERICA IN THE 2IST CENTURY:
THE PRESIDENT'S INITIATIVE ON RACE
"/// the end. more ihan anything else, our world leadership grows out of Ihe power of our
example here al home, oui ofour ahilily to remain sirong as one America... We are ihe world's
most diverse democracy, and the world looks lo ns lo show lhal it is possible lo live and advance
together across those kinds of differences... Building one America is our mosl important
mission...money cannot buy it. Power cannol compel il. Technology cannot create it. Jt can
only come from (he human spirit. "
— President Clinlon, February -/, 1997
W H A T IS THE PRESIDENT'S RACE INITIATIVE?
This initiative is a year-long effort, led by tlie President, to present to the nation his vision
of a stronger, more just and more united American community, offering opportunity and fairness
for all Americans. Tlie President's initiative will combine constructive dialogue, study, and
action. It will examine the current state of race relations and our common future, look at the laws
and policies that can help to ensure that we remain One America, and enlist individuals,
communities, businesses and government at all levels in an etfort to understand our
differences as we appreciate the values that unite us.
WHY A MAJOR INITIATIVE ON RACE, AND WHY NOW?
President Clinton's personal, life-long coininilment. Growing up in the South, the
President saw for himself the great harm caused by racial discrimination, and the difference that
can be achieved by changing both policies and attitudes. That longstanding, deeply personal
commitment has led him to make this initiative one of his major second-term priorities He knows
that America can reach its full potential only by enlisting the full energies of all our people, and
giving all our citizens, of every background, the chance to make the most of their own God-given
talents.
Not a crisis, but an opportunity. This etfort builds on the President's record
throughout his first term (defending affirmative action, major speeches on race and reconciliation,
etc.). But unlike previous Presidential efforts in this area. President Clinton's initiative is the
result not of a crisis, but of a unique opportunity
America is strong enough to look to the future. Having moved aggressively in the first
term to get the country back on the right track — reversing the rising tide of crime,
welfare, budget deficits, unemployment and income inequality — the President believes
that it is time for America to address these issues as we prepare for the 21st Century.
Many "wedge" issues have been defused On many of the issues that had been used to
divide tlie country - such as crime and welfare — the President lias begun lo change the
terms of the debate, pointing to solutions instead of pointing lingers, and defusing tensions
so that an honest dialoyue about race can be»in
�RACE TP3
Page 2
Responsibility, comiminity and citizenship. This initiative will encourage Americans to
take responsibility — for ourselves and our families, for our community and at home with one
another. It is a call to citizenship, because the President believes that being a good citizen
includes recognizing the promise of America — an America free of destructive bigotry, a nation
that welcomes those who play by the rules, serve their community, and reach out to make all
Americans feel at home. This is a great nation, and the true measure ofour greatness is in the
human heart.
WHAT ARE THE INITIATIVE'S GOALS AND METHODS?
The initiative will have five central goals:
1) To articulate the President's vision of racial reconciliation and a just, unified America;
2) To help educate the nation about the facts surrounding the issue of race;
3) To promote a constructive dialogue, to confront and work through the difficult and
controversial issues surrounding race,
4) To recruit and encourage leadership at all levels to help bridge racial divides,
5) To find, develop, and implement solutions in critical areas such as education, economic
opportunity, housing, health care, crime and the administration of justice — for individuals,
communities, corporations and government at all levels
The President hopes to achieve these goals through the following methods:
Presidential leadership. The President will begin a national examination of
race and reconciliation
explaining why the goal of One America is so important
to preparing for the 21st Century, addressing the facts about race, encouraging
others to discuss difficult racial issues that we too often avoid, and reaching out
to Americans of every race to get them engaged in the process. Unlike previous
national efforts, this initiative will be led directly and personally by the President
throughout.
Dialogue, study and action -- increasing our understanding of race, and
proposing and promoting policies and solutions that can make a difference.
Dialogue can help to inform, and to build support for constructive solutions
to the issues of race. For an entire generation growing up after the civil
rights movement, there has been little or no public articulation of the values
and ideals of racial reconciliation. (And too often the rhetoric has been
negative, helping to confirm derogatory stereotypes.) This initiative will
employ the power of the Presidency to encourage open, candid debate
about difficult issues and to highlight actions by individuals, communities,
businesses and government that are working in this area now.
Study. The issues to be addressed will include: different perceptions and
�[RACETPS
„"L_
experiences of Americans of different races, confronting harmful
stereotypes and examining serious problems. While the initiative will be
largely forward-looking, it is also important to help educate Americans about
the past — so that the nation has a clear sense of what has come before,
recognizing the unique experience of African Americans throughout our
history.
Action. Throughout this effort, attention will go to policies that can make a
difference and solutions that can be implemented by individuals, community
groups, state and local governments and the federal government. Examples
of issues to be addressed include the lack of economic progress among Hispanic
Americans and the greatly reduced number of black and Hispanic students in California.
This nation has made real progress, but we know that there is more that must be done.
An example of dialogue, study and action is the President's 5/16 apology to the
survivors of the Tuskeegee Study, which was combined with concrete actions and
further study (establishing a bioethics center at Tuskeegee; studying ways to
involve minority communilies in research and health care; new training materials
for medical researchers on ethics and how to apply them to diverse populations,
new postgraduate fellowships in bioethicists for minorities).
ELEMENTS OF THE PRESIDENT'S INITIATIVE
Advisory Board. This small, diverse group will advise the President and
assist him in outreach efforts and consultations with experts. They were chosen
based on their outstanding leadership on this issue, and their contributions to
America's ongoing dialogue about race and reconciliation.
Significant Presidential events/actions throughout the year. Events held
throughout the year will include t o w n hall meetings in different regions of the
country, meetings with the advisory board, and other events which will enable the
President to carry out his goals for the initiative.
Outreach, consultation and leadership recruitment. The effort will include
outreach to community leaders, religious leaders, state and local elected officials,
members of Congress, business leaders and individuals, encouraging them to
become involved in reconciliation and community-building projects.
The President's Report to the American People, to be issued next summer,
in which the President will:
•
Present his vision of One America, including an illustration and assessment
of the growing diversity of our nation, and of his consultations with his
advisory board;
•
Reflect the work that has occurred during the year, including the
conversations and suggestions made at town hall meetings and other
venues;
Page 3
�RACE TP3
"
"
P
a
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e
Report on how tlie nation has evolved on the issue of race over the past 30 years,
including the studies commissioned for the initiative;
Provide recommendations and solutions that enable individuals, communities, businesses,
organizations and government to address ditlicull issues and build on our best possibilities.
4
�A
Memorandum
U.S. Department of Justice
Community Relations Service
Subject
Date
A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Accomplishinents
May
To
T e r r y Edmonds
P r e s i d e n t i a l Speech
Writer
29, 1997
Fron^
A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s Accomplishment o f S i g n i f i c a n c e t o t h e A s i a n
American community.
On A p r i l 25, 1996, a t t h e 2 8 t h annual Manzanar p i l g r i m a g e , Under
S e c r e t a r y , o f DOT, John Garamendi, t o o k p a r t i n t h e h i s t o r i c l a n d
t r a n s f e r from t h e C i t y o f Los Angeles t o t h e N a t i o n a l Park
S e r v i c e . T h i s completes the process o f c r e a t i n g a N a t i o n a l
H i s t o r i c S i t e on t h e grounds o f t h e former Manzanar Camp.
T h i s was a s i g n i f i c a n t moment i n h i s t o r y f o r Japanese Americans,
and a l l Americans because d e s p i t e a l l t h e p a r t i s a n p o l i t i c s t h a t
abounds, we, as a n a t i o n , agree t o commemorate a dark c h a p t e r i n
our n a t i o n ' s h i s t o r y .
The Manzanar N a t i o n a l H i s t o r i c S i t e w i l l s t a n d as p o w e r f u l
w i t n e s s t o t h i s t r a g i c episode i n o u r n a t i o n ' s h i s t o r y t h r o u g h
i t s a b i l i t y t o educate f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s o f Americans.
Rose Ochi, as p r o bono counsel t o t h e Manzanar Committee
engineered t h e w i n n i n g s t r a t e g y t o c r e a t e t h e MNHS. P r e s i d e n t
C l i n t o n has a p p o i n t e d h e r t o t h e p o s t o f D i r e c t o r o f t h e
Community R e l a t i o n S e r v i c e , Department o f J u s t i c e becoming t h e
f i r s t A s i a n American woman a t t h e A s s i s t a n t A t t o r n e y General
l e v e l . As one o f t h e thousands o f Japanese Americans u n j u s t l y
i n t e r n e d d u r i n g WWII i n Arkansas, h e r deep commitment t o equal
j u s t i c e stems from h e r own f a m i l y ' s experience w i t h r a c i a l
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n . Throughout h e r c a r e e r , she has sought t o make a
p o s i t i v e d i f f e r e n c e as a v o i c e f o r j u s t and.human s o c i a l
policies.
Ever s e n s i t i v e t o t h e i s s u e s o f race and e t h n i c i t y ,
she i s i d e a l l y s u i t e d t o be D i r e c t o r o f CRS h e l p i n g o u r n a t i o n ' s
communities f i n d peace and j u s t i c e .
cc:
Cabinet A f f a i r s
Bob Nash
�Michael Waldman
0 6 / 1 1/97 0 5 : 4 2 : 0 8 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
James T. Edmonds/WHO/EOP. Carolyn Curiel/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject:
1 9 9 7 - 0 6 - 1 1 Interview of the President by Wall Stieui Journal
Forwitrded by Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP un 0 6 / 1 1/97 0 5 : 4 1 PM
SUNTUM M @ A l
0 6 / 1 1/97 0 5 : 2 6 : 0 0 PM
Record Type:
To:
Record
See the distribution lisl at the bottom ot this message
cc:
Subject:
1 9 9 7 - 0 6 - 1 1 Interview ot the President by Wall Street Journal
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
Internal Transcript
June 1 1 , 1997
INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT
BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Oval Office
4 : 3 5 P.M. EDT
Q
Mr. President, the first thing I want to ask you is
what are you going to tell the nation about race relations on
Saturday?
�THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm going to say that we have the
opportunity to become the first truly multi-racial, multi-ethnic
great democracy in history. And if we do it right, it will ensure
the ascendancy of America in the world as the leading force for
opportunity and peace and freedom for decades to come. And if we
fail, it will undermine everything else we seek to do.
I'm going to obviously point out that all around the
world there are people who are still convulsed by their racial and
ethnic and religious hatreds and conflicts; that here at home, while
we have made dramatic progress both in fact and in attitudes, as the
Gallup Poll - this new poll shows - there are still real problems
in our historic divide between blacks and whites and in our more
modern situation with so many different ethnic groups; and that
beyond whatever objective problems exist, there are also significant
differences still in the perception of how our society works and how
people are treated.
And I'm also going to say that it's been a generation,
really, since the country looked at these issues with President
Johnson's appointment of the Kerner Commission after the Watts riots.
And before that it was t w o decades back to the time when President
Truman was considering integrating the armed forces.
And I think this is a particularly important time to do
this, looking to a new century without the kind of crisis that led to
the Kerner Commission, at a time when we ought to be tree to -because of the relative economic success of the country and the fact
that the crime rate and the welfare rolls have dropped and the
country seems to be coming together and moving forward again - this
is a time when we ought to feel secure enough -- all ot us -- to take
a hard look at this and to do what is right.
And furthermore, we have underneath this some problems
which could still flare. For example, with all this debate over
welfare reform, most people haven't - don't -- I think most people
genuinely don't know that perhaps our biggest social and economic
problem are young, single men who are not eligible for welfare. But
their unemployment rates are quite high if they don't have high
levels of education.
Or I'll give you another example. In the last three
years, if you just take the data that we have - now we don't -- I
admit going in that we don't have the best information in the world
on the most recent trends -- but it appears that the only group which
has not done better as a group in the last three years is Hispanics.
And the reason is the economy has picked up markedly. We have
produced 1 2 million jobs in a four-year period during my first term
for the first time ever in an administration. And that, plus the
Earned Income Tax Credit, plus raising the minimum wage and a number
of other things, and increased education tended to lift all boats.
�African American high school graduation rates are almost exactly what
white graduation rates are now.
By contrast, Hispanics have had for -- well, I've gone
back almost three decades to look at the data -- have always had
higher drop-out rates, but they have tended to have more coherent
family structures and more, therefore, mutual income support than
other low-income minorities.
What's happening now is, their family structure is
moving to look like the family structures of poor whites and poor
blacks, but their educational attainment hasn't increased to that
level. They're still dropping out of high school with the same
frequency as before, and there is nothing we can do to help them
unless we can figure out a way to keep more Hispanics in school.
And I'll give you the third example, ol winch you are
very well aware - of the continuing problem -- is affirmative
action. While I felt that we rolled back the effort just to get rid
of it all at the national level in '95 and ' 9 6 , and with the speech I
gave at the Archives and other things, you still have the Hopwood
case in Texas and its aftermath in the Texas Law School. You have
Proposition 209 in California and its aftermath in some of the
institutions of higher education there.
0
Right.
THE PRESIDENT: And you have continuing legal battles
being fought out there. So I think we -- there are a lot ol things
that are just simmering just beneath the surface. When I became
President, there were hundreds, I think, of -- there was a huge
backlog at the EEOC. We cleared out about 25 percent of it, but it's
still unconscionably high and we've not been able to persuade
Congress to give the resources necessary to actually just enforce the
EEOC, the existing law, and get rid of the backlog.
So there are all these -- so underneath what is a very
good situation for the country, there also are some serious issues
that could become profound problems for America if they're not dealt
w i t h . And so I think this is a good time to deal with them. And
that's the second thing I'm going to say.
Q
Mr. President, going back to the college question
for a second, the unemployment rate among college-educated black
males is 3.5 percent, but yet the unemployment rate, as you said,
among blacks w h o graduate from high school is 9.5 percent. Is there
anything that you or the government can do to help boost black
college enrollment at a time when college affirmative action programs
are being dismantled in some places?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the first thing we need to
do is to make sure that money is never a barrier. We had a big
increase in Pell Grants last year. We went to the direct college
loan program, which means that people can pay back •- if you get one
�of those loans direct from the Department of Education, it means you
can always pay them back as a percentage of your income, so you'll
never go bankrupt.
We're now proposing the next step, which is another huge
increase in Pell Grants and the availability of a tax credit, which
will go up to $ 1 , 5 0 0 a year for the first t w o years of college, and
then some relief beyond that for the cost of all post-high school
education. So I want to - I think that that is a very important
thing to do.
I think the more -- the Congressional Research Service
said that we might - if my higher education plan was introduced, it
might increase the quantity and quality of -- at least half the money
would be used, not just as tax relief for people who are spending
money to go to college but actually to increase enrollment in
schools. So I'm encouraged by that and I think that's very
important.
And then the other thing we have to do is lo make sure
that these schools keep doing serious outreach to enroll minorities.
But at a minimum, if you're talking about people who are at the
economic margins, if you look at those unemployment rates, those are
shockingly different unemployment rates. And what I tried to
persuade people all over the country to do is to at least have the
high school and the community groups, churches, everybody -- at least
get every young person to enroll in a two-year program when they get
out of high school.
That seems to be the breaking point -- at least it was
according to the 1990 census. You know, that if you had at least two
years of education after high school, the chances ol getting a job
were pretty good, and the chances of getting a job where the income
would grow were pretty good; and if you had less than that the
chances began to drop off markedly. This year there's a great job
market out there for college graduates. And we've simply got to get
more young African Americans and Hispanics and other low-income
Americans out of high school, into college, and through two years, at
a very minimum. It's not complicated. We could do more to reduce
the disparities of wealth and opportunity by doing that than any
other single thing, which is why I am so concerned that states may be
abandoning affirmative action in ways that will -- at a minimum -resegregate higher education and may just shut people out of
opportunity.
Q
Is there -- do you feel like there's anything more
that your Education Department can do or that you can do to reverse
that -- that attitude?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, believe me, we're looking at it.
I mean, I was hoping that we could defeat 209 last year m
California. And I think if w e ' d had another three weeks, we would
�have been able to. And I think in a funny way, the public attitudes
on this issue may change now that people see the actual consequence
of what has happened at the University of Texas Law School and out in
California.
But that will be one of the things that I want this
advisory board I'm going to appoint to look into. I want to start
with a vision of a unified, multi-racial, multi-ethnic America. And
then I want us to look at the facts about where we are today. There
are a lot of myths about - did you see the recent Gallup Poll Q
Oh, yes.
THE PRESIDENT: - where the largest -- they asked both
blacks and whites what percentage of the American population do you
think is black. And the largest number -- a heavy plurality ot
whites and blacks said somewhere between 20 and 4 9 percent. They
didn't know.
Q
Right.
THE PRESIDENT: I mean, neither race knew. Then we want
to get out both myth and fundamental truths about where we are on a
lot of things. We want to have a dialogue. We want to have specific
efforts to recognize successful projects to bridge the racial divide
and to do more. And then we want a lot of specific solutions.
One of the things that we're going to be doing is
hammering home this - you know, coming to grips with this
affirmative action issue and determining what we have to do to keep
this an integrated society. You simply cannot segregate higher
education in America and expect to build the kind of country we want
to have.
Q
Mr. President, do you think that one ot the tasks
that you have to do is to convince whites that some government
programs, some affirmative action is still needed today, because
blacks are still discriminated against? One of the things that the
Gallup Poll said is that most whites don't think that blacks are
discriminated against anymore, and that's the reason why they don't
support affirmative action in their programs anymore.
THE PRESIDENT: I think we have to show them that there
is still a need for the programs because we're not yet at a point
where we can honestly say that, at the point where people get into
college, everybody's had the same chance in the same way at a college
education.
And it's a hard case to make in some cases because
discrimination is not so overt and because oftentimes the white
majority will believe that, for example, a lot of these -- the
testing measurements that we have are absolute measurements not only
�of how well you can do on the test but of ability and worthiness.
And there's a lot of good in America's desire to have a
meritocracy. But I think we also have to be a little more
sophisticated about it. And we also have to recognize that a lot of
people that are perfectly capable of doing very high quality college
work may have a bad day on a test or may not be prepared to do well
on those kinds of tests.
And also I think public universities, as well as private
ones, have a legitimate interest in being somewhat -- and not
somewhat, but more diverse. I mean, I think - there were a lot of
cracks out in California that when 209 passed, that the major impact
would be to make Berkeley all Asian. Well, I don't think that would
be so good for the students at Berkeley. I think that there were - I
think that it's a legitimate thing for a state university, just as it
is for a private university, to want its diversified student body.
I also thought - one of the things that was amazing to
me about 209 was it says, it's okay to have preferential treatment
for athletes, as if having good sports teams was a bona fide value of
a great university, but having a diversified student body where
people could learn from each other's differences and different
experiences and outlooks -- world views -- was not a bona fide
experience.
That's one of the things I always thought that the
proponents of affirmative action didn't argue that hard enough out in
California because most white people want their kids to go to college
with all different kinds of people so they'll learn more about the
way the world is going to be that they'll be living in.
But anyway, all these things are things that I think if
we look at this in a forthright way and we do it from the point of
view of -- in which people feel free to engage in a dialogue in which
we are studying the facts, in which people know we're going to try to
take action, but we're doing it in a context where we're not facing
some emergency, we're not just reacting to great social upheaval or
riots, we're honestly trying to get this country into the next
century in the best shape possible, where it's an enjoyable,
harmonious and successful place for people to live -- I believe that
-- I think the overwhelming majority of Americans in all racial
groups believe we need to do that and think that this is an etfort
worth making.
Q
Mr. President, you've studied this question for a
long, long time. What do you feel causes bigotry and discrimination
in America?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that - first of all, I
think that a lot of it is learned behavior. And a lot of it -- not
just in our country, but everywhere -- is the product, sort of, kind
of an expression of people's disappointments or frustrations in their
o w n lives, and this is just the, sort of, outlet for it.
�I mean, if you go back through the centuries and you
look at wars, groups of people against different groups ot people, I
think you will see that there are normally a couple of animating
forces. You know, there are some people who fear everyone who is
different from them, and there are some people who feel the need to
define their o w n merit in terms of whether they're better than
somebody else. And it's easier to identify yourself as better than
somebody else if the somebody else looks different from you.
And these are things that are not American; these are
deep things. Of course, in our country it's been compounded by
slavery. In South Africa it was compounded by 350 years of
oppression. You know, when it gets institutionalized, it becomes a
real problem.
And that's why we have sort of a dual-edged challenge
here. There are still some unique aspects to the black-white issues
in America, and then it is overlaid and will some day be overtaken by
the fact of the future -- which is that we're becoming a
multi-racial, multi-ethnic society.
But if you look at -- let's take Bosnia, where those
people even have different religions and we commonly say they're of
different ethnic groups -- they're, in fact, biologically virtually
indistinguishable. And they are divided by accident of history. And
they lived together in Sarajevo in peace and harmony tor decades, and
within no time they were slaughtering each other -- people who had
been their good neighbors. How did that happen? How can you strike
that kind of a match inside people?
I think there has to be an underlying sort of
predisposition to be afraid of people who are different from you, or
to believe that you only count -- that somehow your lite only counts
if you're better than someone else and you can look down on someone
else.
You know, when I was a kid growing up in the South in
the '50s, it was commonplace to say that the biggest racists during
the civil rights movement were the people whose socioeconomic
conditions should have made them feel most close to blacks - you
know, the poor whites, poor working class whites who were having a
hard time.
Q
Right.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know, my grandfather was one
of those guys and that's the way he felt. He was out there pulling
for integration. But he was in a distinct minority. Because most
people in our group felt the need to look down on somebody. And the
only people left to look down on were blacks.
I guess what I'm trying to say to you is, I think this
racial thing - the reason I think this is so difficult is that this
�behavior is learned, not just from a child, through a child's life,
but by societies through the centuries and indeed going back through
the millennia. You can go back and -- fighting people in different
groups from you probably once, thousands of years ago, had an element
of survival in it, when the only people alive were living in
wandering tribes.
And since then people have grouped themselves in
different ways, which were quite often racial and ethnic. And in our
time, when the world was Communist world and non-Communist world,
that was actually an aberration, where people divided by choosing
different systems of thought, value, and organization. Usually they
fought over the differences from condition of birth. I mean, you see
it still in the ongoing tensions that exist in Asia, between Japanese
and Koreans and Chinese, because of the history of what happened just
in the 20th century among them in Asia.
So I think the American people should relax about this
in this sense, that we are trying to do something that has not been
done before, and we are trying to deal with forces that have
bedeviled people throughout history. But if we can pull it off it
will in some ways be the signal achievement of American democracy
- i n some ways, along with the end of slavery and the civil rights
revolution and the founding of America with the ideals thai the
French Revolution shared, but without the madness, and with a
democratic system. It will be kind of like the third great
achievement of American civilization.
Q
Mr. President, going back to your childhood for a
second. I've had some of your friends tell me that one of the
reasons w h y they think you're so sensitive to race issues and
discrimination is that when you were going to school as a child you
knew black kids w h o were in your classes who were just as smart as
you were back then, but as you moved up, you know, through grades,
they didn't get the same kind of opportunity that you got because you
were white and they were black. And I've had some people who know
you tell me that they've always thought that that was one ot the
reasons w h y you've always been sensitive to the fact that there is
discrimination out there and that whites can get more opportunities
and THE PRESIDENT: Well, let me say, what you're saying is
only half right.
Q
Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: That is, when I was -- I still lived in
a segregated environment when I was a child growing up. But I knew
more — for t w o or three different reasons, I knew more black people
than most white kids did. But our schools were segregated.
Q
Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: And I would meet these kids -- I'll
�never forget when I was - I would go back to Hope to visit my
grandparents, and I knew this woman who had worked with my
grandmother, and I would play with her son. And I'd see these other
kids, and I thought they were perfectly intelligent kids. And I knew
that because they were shut out of the schools, they were never going
to have a chance. And I did feel - I felt guilty about it. I felt
sick about it.
I also used to drive by the black high school in my
hometown all the time and realize that those -- I was going to go off
to college and most of those kids were going to be left behind and
there had to be a bunch of them just as smart as me.
And I remember, all during my -- and after I left -shortly after I graduated from high school, I can't remember exactly
when it was, they began to integrate the schools there. And I
remember, I spent the summer of '69 at home in Arkansas, and there
were some racial problems there. And I had a - I was in a group of
young people - an integrated group -- where we tried to have a
healing effect on the community. But I just kept seeing all these
young people that I thought were intelligent, appealing young people.
And I didn't think I was -- they were inferior to me in any way. And
it just made me angry and sick that they didn't have any
opportunities.
But actually, even though the Little Rock Cemral High
crisis occurred in ' 5 7 , by '64 when I graduated from high school our
schools still weren't integrated.
Q
Mr. President, do you envision any new policy
initiative?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I think there will be some coming
out of here. I think - I hope that we will find a way to respond
effectively to Hopwood, 209, Adarand, all these things, and still
keep our constructive effort going to increase the opportunity. And
I think that's very important -- and to increase opportunity in a way
that makes us -- empowers all segments of our society and also keeps
us coming together.
But, yes, I think there will be. I expect this to be a
lot more than just talking, which is why I didn't want to appoint a
formal commission the way President Johnson did with the Kerner
Commission, because I didn't really want to keep any distance from
the work that these people will do with me. And I wanted us to come
up with a report that, in effect, they would help me prepare to give
to the American people that would include responsibilities that I
would assume in a policy area.
So, yes, I expect there to be a lot of action coming out
of this. And I also think there will be some policy actions coming
out during the course of the year. I don't think I should just wait
until we get ready for our final report.
�Surging Economy Bypasses Black Men
Blue-Collar Workers Face Particularly Daunting Odds
By CHRISTINA DUFF
Sta.f/ R c p o r t p r 0 / T H F W A L L S T R F E T
JOURNAL
A Rising Economy Leaves Black Men Behind
WASHINGTON-A surging economy is
supposed to carry with it all types of Typical Black Man Is Worse Off...
As the Earnings Gap Widens...
people, but low-skilled black males haven't Median weekly wages, in 1996 dollars
Earnings of blacks as a percentage of the earnquite caught the wave.
ings of whites, men and women
to adjust for inflation*
Certainly, the "strongest economy in a $440
generation," to borrow from President
i Women
Clinton, has lowered unemployment rates
85
across the map and brought all sorts of
workers out of the woodwork. " I don't
think there's a lot of doubt that improve'Men75.
ments have been broad-based," said economist Gary Burtless of the Brookings Insti70
tution.
1990 '81 ' W
*83 W
'95 'M
1990 '91
Broad-Based but Unequal?
Blacks More Likely to Be Jobless...
But College Grads fare Better
Broad-based, yes. But equal? Not
Unemployment rates of black men and white men Additional earnings of black male college;
really. Though the latest expansion has
- graduates vs. black male high School graduates
helped both blacks and whites, it hasn't
20% i — — — — — ' — ' — - — i ' 80%
done much to narrow the gap between
them. Black workers are making just 76.5%
60
of what white workers make per weekdown from the 7% they made in 1990.
8
40
Black males in particular are losing ground, especially if they didn't attend
20
college-and only, about 1% did. The earn4
ings gap between black male college and
0
1990 W '9* W
*95 '96
high-school graduates has widened four
1 9 '91 " 2 '93 94 '95 " 8 '97
90
9
9
9i
times as much since 1990, as has the gap
'Economic Policy Institute analysis of Bureau ol Labor Statistics data, dellated by tl»
. between their white counterparts. UnemSource: Bumau ot Labor Statistics
ployment is running at 35 among col.%
lege-educated black men - way below the and behavior than formal or technical
Continue^ From Page AS
95 among black high-school grads. Com- knowledge. Philip Moss of the University
.%
Washington, but wants a better-paying
parable figures for white college and
of Massachusetts at Lowell and Chris Tilly
high-school grads: 2.1% and 4.0%, respec- of the Russell Sage Foundation, New York, job. Mr. Scott says he recently was turned
tively. "The premium for black men with a interviewed 56 employers in 1 9 in an down from a furniture-making company
96
college education is really glaring," said
effort to explain black men's employment because his writing skills are, poor, " i
Jared Bernstein, labor economist for the problems. They found that businesses rank didn't see how that mattered,? he said.
Economic Policy Institute.
black men poorly in terms of soft skills. It's Just last week, he was turned Sown for a
Although.the jobless rate for adult- "partly stereotype, partly cultural gap and $l2-an-hour job at a pension-benefit comblack men is about the same as for
partly an accurate perception of the skills pany because he couldn't use the computer
black women-8.9% in April-black men's
that many less-educated black men bring fast enough to complete a simple math test
earnings have fallen more in inflationto the labor market," they concluded. It's in 20 minutes.
adjusted terms than black women's in the
"inevitably subjective."
current economic expansion. And black
Harry Hoizer, economics professor at
For five years, Trumark has required Michigan State University,. conducted a
women's paychecks are much closer to
its factory workers to have problem-solv- study in April to determine why there
those of their white counterparts than is
the case among black men and their
ing skills. With just $ 5 million in sales, the aren't higher employment rates among
4
white counterparts.
company is smaller than some competitors blacks. He found that when jobs dprt't
The hurdles facing blue-collar black
and needs workers who can provide good
males reflect how much the economy has ideas about how to improve, can work well require any special tasks - like computer
use or dealing with customers - 3 % of
6
changed over the past decade. Consider
in teams and have good communication them are filled by blacks. But when jobs
Trumark Inc., a Lansing, Mich., maker of
skills. Since many workers don't read or require one or more of these tasks, only
underbody car parts. At first glance. Truwrite well, they must use graphics and find 2 % are filled by blacks.
0
mark appears the ideal place for lowcreative ways to communicate ideas. "It's
skilled black men to find jobs. It's in
And long-term trends aren't the only
the Midwest, where the economy is boom- much different from putting your hand on factors decreasing the employment opporing, and it's run by Carlton Guthrie, a
a button and watching the press go up and tunities of black men. Trumark's auto
black man who says he prefers to hire
down," Mr. Guthrie said. "That won't get clients also are making cost-efficient
black workers.
it.'
changes themselves, which squeezes theBecause labor markets are so tight, Mr. Old Jobs, New Tasks
company. For example, Ford Motor Co.
Guthrie recently had to boost entry wages
just discontinued its classic Thunderbird
by si to s:.Sfl an hour, "just to attract
"As job requirements change, black model, causing Trumark to lose $ million
6
folks.'' At the same time, however, auto men have suffered," said economist Mar- in sales this year. Fifteen workers, Mr.
clients have refused to pay higher prices garet Simms of the Joint Center for Politi- Guthrie said, will lose their jobs as a
for Trumark's parts - so Mr. Guthrie cal and Economic Studies.
result.
hasn't raised them.
No one knows that better than Darrius
"The economy is booming, so to
Like many businesses, then, Trumark
has had to do more work with fewer people Scott. He sells flowers on a street corner in speak," Mr. Guthrie said. "But there's a
to keep profit margins from collapsing. an upper-middle-class neighborhood of strong current to reduce costs and that has
Please Turn to Page AW, Column 5an indirect effect on black males. Often,
The company is down to just 230 workers
from 350 three years ago. "Fewer black
they're the ones who are let go."
men are getting my jobs." Mr. Guthrie
said.
'Soft Skills' in Demand
A long-term shift in the workplace is
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
pari of what's holding back lower-skilled
black men: an emphasis on so-called "soft
TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1997
skills." Now. even factory workers must
possess them. For instance, within the past
decade, Trumark employees have been
required to chart and analvze data electronically, to gauge both tlie quality and
the quantity of what they make.
Many of these prerequisite soft-skills
have more to do with personality, altitude
pn i
I I I
i II
i i
ii
II
�Continued From Page A3
tives and the New Democrats registered
gains at the expense of the Liberals.
Prime Minister Chretien beat off a
strong challenge from a Bloc Quebecois
politician to win re-election in his Quebec
district.
Mr. Chretien's government campaigned on its record of sharply reducing
the federal government's budget deficit,
which was at a record high when the
Liberals took office in late 1993.
By JOHN URQUHART
Mr. Chretien, who is 63 years old, has
Staff Reporter O / T I I E W A L L S T R K F T J O U R N A L
refused to consider any broad personalOTTAWA - Canadian voters appeared
last night to have given a new mandate to income-tax cuts until the federal budget is
their centrist Liberal Party government, balanced, a goal that is expected to be
which has won high marks for slashing the achieved within two years. "We must stay
the course with our fiscal policy," he says.
country's big budget deficit.
The government's policy has helped reTelevision networks said that based on
preliminary vote tabulations, their com- duce Canadian interest rates to their lowputers
indicated est levels in more than 30 years.
Mr. Chretien has promised that when
that the Liberals,
the deficit is eliminated, half of any evenheaded by Prime
Minister Jean Chre- tual surplus will go to cutting taxes and
tien, would win the reducing the accumulated government
most seats in the debt. The remainder would go to govern301-seat House of ment programs. Because so much of the
Commons. In the tax revenue goes to service the federal
parliamentary sys- government's debt of 600 billion Canadian
tem, which Canada dollars (USS435 billion), Canadian taxinherited from Brit- payers only get 77 cents worth of ^services
ain, the party that for every dollar of tax.
wins the largest
The re-election of Prime Minister Chrenumber of House of tien's government also means that Canada
Commons
seats will continue to work closely with the
usually forms the Clinton administration to minimize fricJean Chretien
government.
tion in the billion-dollar-a-day trade beThe remainder of the seats were shared tween the U.S. and Canada.
by four other parties, the Progressive
Much of Mr. Chretien's second term is
Conservative Party, the populist Reform expected to be devoted to initiatives to
Party, the left-wing New Democratic ensure that Quebec remains part of CanParty, and the Bloc Quebecois, which ada. Such initiatives probably would inadvocates the separation of Quebec from volve acceding to some of the FrenchCanada.
speaking province's longstanding deThe Liberals suffered heavy losses in mands for more autonomy. Such a strategy
eastern Canada, including the defeat of could force the separatist Parti Quebecois
Health Minister David Dingwall and De- to postpone indefinitely its plan for another
fense Minister Douglas Young. But the independence referendum, said Gilles
Liberal vote held up in Ontario and, to a Pacquet, a University of Ottawa politicallesser extent, in Quebec. Both Conserva- science professor. The separatists lost the
Please Tum to Page A2k. Column 2 last referendum by a narrow margin.
Liberals Head
For a Victory
In Canada
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1997
�Pn, Me I Brn hmm. Int.
en on e d
i
a
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th
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�Race Relations
85% believe race relations in the U.S. is a serious problem now (39% very
serious), 14% do not believe it is a serious problem. Forty percent believe it has
become more serious this past decade (16% less serious and 42% remains the
same).
19% believe the race issue today is primarily an issue of blacks and whites, while
74% believe it is an issue of the many minorities in the country getting along with
whites and becoming integrated into society.
80% believe the new wave of immigration from Asia and Latin America is
triggering new problems and new feelings of hostility against these groups (13%
do not believe so).
This is the area of major change in the race issue - the big idea that needs to be
emphasized as this is explained.
Suggested Theme:
st
One America in the 2 1 Century (Subhead: The President's Initiative on
Race - this should be the theme of all of the events, all banners, and of the
advisory board.)
The Kerner Commission did not have race in its title - it was the National
Commission on Civil Disorders.
st
The Advisory Board—One America in the 2 1 Century: The President's
Task Force on race. Task Force is a fundamentally a better name than advisory
board, which sounds quite weak for the President to be spearheading.
Need to tie our message to the themes of the state of the union. The
enemy of our time is inaction - and nowhere is this truer than in the area of race.
a) Problems but no crisis, so we have the best possible atmosphere for real
discourse
b) Have made progress, yet the problem persists, even grows in new ways
c) New dimensions of the problem raised by the changing nature of America
d) And America is headed for another race related crisis if we fail to act
(important to discuss in these stark terms), as new divisions are occurring just
as we continue the healing process of the old divisions.
J u n e s , 1997
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�e) And racism is much more subtle than in the past when it was more out in
the open, making the personal actions of people in their daily lives much more
important
\
f) Recognize the changes in the political system important to making progress
in racial reconciliation - seeing past the old attempts to use crime, welfare
and other issues as ways to divide people
g) So we must expand our efforts to look at the new problems in these new
times with the task force and examination of the problems we face as we
enter the 2 1 century
st
h) Should not be defensive about not having solutions today or about
appointing another commission
The benefit of some of the other commissions has been that that looked at
problems so controversial that they uniquely got at the truth of what was
happening, and were credible to all communities in establishing that
essential truth.
Consequently, an important aspect of the initiative is to
examine the state of race relations today so that all Americans will
have a better understanding of the problems created by our diversity
and the steps we need to take to enter the 21 Century a stronger
nation. This is an excellent overall statement of the goal of the effort.
91
Calling this a national conversation on race is also weak. This is
less about conversation and dialogue, and more about shared
understanding of the facts, of the true state of affairs.
On issue after issue, it is the understanding of the problems
regarding race that lead to a consensus of solutions. For example, the
great majority oppose affirmative action in college admissions, and then
when they understand the consequences of that position - i.e. no
minorities in law school - they change their mind dramatically.
June 9,1997
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�PAGE
2
1ST STORY o f Focus p r i n t e d i n FULL format.
Copyright 1997 The A u s t i n American-Statesman
A u s t i n American-Statesman
June 11, 1997
SECTION: News; Pg. A l
LENGTH: 773 words
HEADLINE: Views on U.S. race r e l a t i o n s d i f f e r ; N a t i o n a l p o l l shows - whites
BYLINE: Bob Dart
BODY:
WASHINGTON --As P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n prepares a major speech on race r e l a t i o n s ,
a p o l l released Tuesday shows t h a t black and white Americans have d r a m a t i c a l l y
d i f f e r e n t p e r c e p t i o n s o f how they get along w i t h each other.
Whites have a much r o s i e r assessment -- p e r c e i v i n g fewer race problems, less
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n and p r e j u d i c e , and g r e a t e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r b l a c k s . A f r i c a n
Americans p e r c e i v e e x a c t l y t h e o p p o s i t e .
The p e r c e p t i o n a l d i f f e r e n c e s foreshadow d i f f i c u l t i e s i n f i n d i n g a f e d e r a l
f i x . Black respondents b e l i e v e more government programs such as a f f i r m a t i v e
a c t i o n are needed t o remedy l i n g e r i n g problems; w h i t e respondents b e l i e v e race
r e l a t i o n s have improved, and less government r e l i e f i s warranted.
The p o l l ' s f i n d i n g s t h a t p e r s i s t e n t gaps remain between b l a c k s ' and w h i t e s '
a t t i t u d e s and p e r c e p t i o n s ' ' i n d i c a t e t h a t C l i n t o n faces a tough j o b o f b u i l d i n g
a m u l t i r a c i a l consensus and focus f o r h i s trumpeted -- b u t thus f a r vague -i n i t i a t i v e on race r e l a t i o n s t h a t he w i l l announce Saturday.
White Americans don't see a major problem,'' s a i d Frank Newport,
e d i t o r - i n - c h i e f o f t h e Gallup P o l l , which conducted the exhaustive survey.
Ergo, they don't see t h e need f o r governmental i n t e r v e n t i o n .
1 1
B u i l d i n g upon p e r i o d i c p o l l s conducted over f o u r decades, t h e survey does
show s i g n i f i c a n t progress i n some areas: A f r i c a n Americans i n c r e a s i n g l y are
s a t i s f i e d w i t h t h e i r p e r s o n a l l i v e s . Most A f r i c a n Americans do n o t l i v e , work
or send t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o school i n segregated environments.
Both whites and b l a c k s say they have close f r i e n d s o f t h e o t h e r race. White
respondents i n c r e a s i n g l y express a w i l l i n g n e s s t o vote f o r a black p r e s i d e n t i a l
candidate and accept i n t e r r a c i a l marriages.
However, many b l a c k respondents r e p o r t e d t h a t they r e g u l a r l y experience
u n f a i r treatment i n everyday occurrences such as shopping. And both black and
white respondents were p e s s i m i s t i c t h a t r a c i a l problems w i l l ever be e l i m i n a t e d .
Also, t h e progress has n o t been steady. I n some areas, the r a c i a l gaps
narrowed f o r t h e e a r l y decades but not i n recent years.
The g u l f i s t h e r e , ' ' Newport s a i d .
The q u e s t i o n i s how t o deal w i t h
1
it. '
�PAGE
3
A u s t i n American-Statesman, June 11, 1997
FOCUS
^The telephone survey o f 3,036 a d u l t s , an u n u s u a l l y l a r g e sampling, was
JSnducted i n January and February and has a margin o f e r r o r of three percentage
^ p o i n t s . The p o l l d i d n o t address Hispanics o r people o f other e t h n i c i t i e s .
One i n d i c a t o r of changing r a c i a l a t t i t u d e s i s t h e increased w i l l i n g n e s s o f
white Americans t o vote f o r a black p r e s i d e n t i a l candidate. I n 1958, o n l y 35
percent o f t h e white respondents s a i d they would -- compared w i t h 93 percent i n
1997. Among black respondents, 76 percent s a i d they would vote f o r a black
candidate i n 1958, and 91 percent would i n 1997.
Likewise, t h e number o f white respondents who approved o f i n t e r r a c i a l
marriages has increased from 4 percent i n 1958 t o 61 percent t h i s year.
The survey found considerable d a i l y contact between black and white
Americans.
Six i n 10 A f r i c a n Americans l i v e i n neighborhoods t h a t are a t l e a s t h a l f
white. Only one i n f o u r A f r i c a n American c h i l d r e n attends a school w i t h a
m a j o r i t y black student body.
Most A f r i c a n Americans work i n a s e t t i n g t h a t i s a t l e a s t h a l f w h i t e . The
most segregated i n s t i t u t i o n i s t h e church; 71 percent o f A f r i c a n Americans are
members o f a mostly black congregation.
The p o l l showed t h a t many A f r i c a n Americans b e l i e v e they face r a c i a l
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n t h e i r everyday l i v e s . Nearly h a l f (45 percent) r e p o r t e d u n f a i r
treatment w i t h i n t h e past 30 days
most commonly w h i l e shopping a t a s t o r e .
Young black men were p a r t i c u l a r l y l i k e l y t o have r e p o r t e d u n f a i r treatment.
Most white Americans say they are n o t p e r s o n a l l y p r e j u d i c e d against blacks
and t h a t they p r e f e r t o l i v e and work i n r a c i a l l y i n t e g r a t e d s e t t i n g s and t o
send t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o schools w i t h black c h i l d r e n . But they b e l i e v e o t h e r
whites i n t h e i r community are more p r e j u d i c e d toward blacks than they are.
Blacks say they have l i t t l e personal p r e j u d i c e toward whites, but they are
more apt t o b e l i e v e t h a t whites i n t h e i r community are p r e j u d i c e d .
LOAD-DATE: June 11, 1997
�POLICY DIRECTION: PROBLEM / SOLUTION
1. Education
~ Access to college
-- Pell grant, HOPE
~ Mend it, don't end it; criticize Hopwood, 209
~ Real problem ~ what happens on the front end; every child can leam if given
opportunity...
~ Failing inner city schools
-- Standards as necessary first element
~ Then, giving students the tools to meet them: reading, teachers and technology,
accountability for failing schools
2. Economic opportunity
~ Individuals and communities outside the economic mainstream
- CD banks, E-zones, capital, brownfields, CRA
~ Continuing employment discrimination (Texaco, Denny's); EEOC backlog
-- Stepping up enforcement efforts.
~ Calling on companies to institute policies ensuring equal employment opportunities
3. Housing
— Travesty of public housing
- Safety (cops/anti-gang measures).
~ Vouchers and other tools of empowerment.
~ Discrimination in housing ~ segregrated neighborhoods leading to segregated schools,
businesses, etc.
- Partly government (HUD/DOJ enforcement of Fair Housing laws)
-- But lots in our hearts (accepting each other as neighbors)
4. Welfare/jobs
~ Continuing underclass, living apart from world of work
-- Emphasizing value of work
- Creating more jobs, improving access to child care and transportation
- Guaranteeing the minimum wage
~ Challenging business to do its share
~ Cutting off immigrants from safety net
~ Restore benefits
5. Crime
— Ravages of crime/systematic underprotection of minorities (segregation of safety)
~ More cops, fewer guns, anti-gang and -drug programs, prevention efforts
- Continuation of Summit ~ reaching out to at-risk kids
6. Ideals/models
~ There are places in society where race relations work ~ where we at least come close to
�treating people of all races with equal respect and dignity and granting them equal opportunities.
~ Refer to military: policies ensure opportunity ~ enable members of minority groups to make
enormous contributions to society.
- Every part of America should be like that ~ every employer should adopt this model to get the
most out of its workforce; every profession should construct itself along these lines; every citizen
should leam from it about the duty we all owe one another.
�THE BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY
Our population is so diverse because people the world over share the same hopes: That
they can live free, that they can make a good life for their families, and that they can pass along a
better life for their children.
And here in America, for the people willing to work and to be responsible, contributing
citizens, those hopes can be realized. That makes ours the land of the dreamers and the doers,
coming in all backgrounds and all colors. That is the root ofour diversity. To look at America is
to see the world.
But diversity is more than skin deep. It is a convergence of ideas, experiences and the
unique histories of many people. It can be a cacaphony, a Tower of Babel, where differences are
not respected and energies are spent in clashing with one another. Or, if we are true to our ideals,
our diversity can be a symphony ~ with each playing his or her part, adding to the greater work
of our national community.
In America, more than anywhere else, diversity and excellence go hand and hand. That is
why we have the most diverse armed forces in the world, and they are the best in the world. The
same is true of our Olympic teams, who out-perform all others. And this extends to our
competitiveness in the global economy. No other nation is in a better position to compete and
win in trade and commerce with every other people on Earth.
�06/13/97 08:14 FAX 3104796606
CARRIE HYUN
: COLUMN
[&01
ti^0:y-mB^m
'ff PresJdeirt Clinton Is slnceie
. . . ms administration fshoufd]
ignors the Irrational mantra of
group cmtitJemeirts am! pursue
the goal pf tacfa) harmony
premised on equal treatment
MfhdJvfduals/
White Bouse
: :)RtJb4er theguiseof diveisity,it
faas aggKssively pursued a policy
,
ofprefierenliai treatment. ,
within the Police Departmezt's sworn pereqntipl." Conwlea c^aimevXivt " I believe :
this particuiai language to he Very signifi cant in that it states equal enjpAoTmcni OF
, Wotncn anrf tninnHtfe rather than equal
employment epportunity/
TJi -"^ as a major policy address on rat*
Even inore ludicrous Is the siatemeotlast
IJrelatiofis,: President Clinton's com:;. mfencecwsnt t p ^ i h Snturdny at UC 3«JQ ", •' month bv Richard ftilw whifc asked about
•i>,og-o is expected t c outline "new - .. .the effects of Preposition 209 an higher.
v^-roaehes to interracial rapport" Catchy -. education in Cabfornia. I U responded thai
"it's hax-it3g a Very dramatic, neRatiTe
hut nor t-nmppiling whsn y6ii rrrnsidor the
has caused a
;sou?ce and take a lock at the Clinton • • e t f e c t . . . ' O i e impact of i t
real chillinc of m terest in poor and jmnority
adiaiiMtxatjpn'sTfecord-cAj r«(ie relitUons. .
Th<» hypocrtiiy trickles domi thrmighout • people advancing their education." Rilev
should haye checked With UCSD first: The
tliis ad&inisttatjgn. Ptom AUy. Gen. Janet
latest figures providedfcyUC's Office of the
Rcao lo EUwatiou Secretary Richard
President paint a very different picture
. Rfley. the a<1nRinl?tration bas aggreasively ; ; from the .one Riley would iike to h&vi ut
. pursaed a policy of preferential tfeatnjent '
believe. At UCSD, my alma; mater, the '
toward cortaai Ainericana at the expense of
otfcsrs. a &r cry from "mending" affinna- . number" of underrepresented applicants
^nnvased .l>etw«!n 1998 .and •ftT. I i the
uve action prcgrams. Hiding under ; the
wake of Propositim 209 the number of
. v^giie defiTijtion- of "rUvwaity,- n ha?
nqieatedly threatened to withhold ffeieral ; enrolled IOLKJL fresftjoan Ihcreased frcin 6 i •
fucila irom public piojecftt and eUucatfonai ' in 1996 to 80 in 19S7. Collectively, freshman
institutions unless numerical "targets" are :; enrolleea of Latirio descent saw thcir rvra^
: here jiicrea?e from '241 in 1996 to 313 in •, aiei. targets only achieved by gtaftting :
- racial end g^Ddcrpteferehcts.
Sore. Riley can. point to t b ; UC flagship
In I K I tommencement ^ « ? c h in May at. • campus in Berkelny a&d cay that Airicon .•:
" pCs Hastings-College of Law in San FnmAmerican undergraduate enrdlnent there
cio'co, Roco.ali but ridiculed the . will of the
decreased a 1% between ISVo and ltf9?. Bai •
majority- of Californians who after tfluch • : are Afrieah; Americans and srtripty. as :«
thbu^M ana debate vot«} last yew tn d i m . whdie really worse oft or 3et back decades, •
inatp all iita»*> rarial and gender pref«t«tie- . as some tontejU, il their enrolimciit at onR .
es. In aTi attempt to spin the.-yote AS .-. UC campus experiences a slight drop-while
dny-iuiiiilgfaiH, site made an amaZifig '.
another?
. iciaim: ^'o cannot ( e y that we are .a mul-^i t mcreases atall the compiex issues that'
Sn .
Racf?
•;•: ttesiloral society." Nowhere intear^je<y^ emanatennd -it most be discussed. The
frbia
: did the yive specific exnmpW or demoa. eviis of racism, bigotry and discrimination
••'; strate how Califonuans haTedcaiem tfeiaga.;
Btirfjcc m •swbtio and wut so-subclo lornk. •
, inulUcultural society: Californiaas e&iferace
Fortunately; those who hayhor such evil or
with great nnrfoth? different ethnic groups
hate ar* Uiemselvss a mtnomy. tfasteffy
that make up th? state's population. But we
' shows that society has n»> ftrohlemB with
also recogiiizs thai government-sponsored .
discrimination is hot the path to racial " -. mai-ginaliziiig-: such mdividuais, Our.'mst^tutiona and our people hiivc come a king'
^^Jia^inony. :' '/;/.-V
; way since the days of Jim Crow. China
In ajiy vdse, "Reno should bv. ail ioo .;, Basin and Japanese Ainerican internment, 'i
. familiar with the consequeaces of forcing : camps/.:
: quota.-? on public institutions. On Jan; 20.
If President Clinton is sincorp in his effort -v
Oklahoma City with<irew from th*
. to "reconcUe antagonisms between races
VS. Deparunent of Justice's Police Hiring :
and bring jvopie tntfether in on*- A.m«rica."
:-bspplement Grant Program, uader^hichit
perhaps a ?opd starting point would be for •.
"
' h&l tteeri sntfioriserf to hire 25 stddftirtnil
him «nd i i s ithnihiFtration to Ignore the .
; officers. Sam Gon&iles, the police chief;
• irratiDoai mantra w group entitlements etrf •
•• objected to a jTJStice Depanaicfit retjuij-epursue the goal of racial harmonv prcai}5«l . ... eient that the city carry out an "uhdertiti. . on equtri trpnfmrnrrtfindreidujai.
..-.•lizatjon analysis" for womwai^njincirities-.
and to develop a ptan ^or ;t^*;- "^W*^^
; • John C. Liu ts dirmor vJ T.-sczrcf). (mi
.'vy.employjnent of won-je:n: and- mmorities
• ifdnk lank in Ban Phmciscii. •:• 'S--^--':
11
:
:
:
:
:
y
�Cheryl D. Mills
0
Record Type:
To:
06/12/97 12:05:16 PM
Record
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
cc:
Subject: Criticism
Okay, so it was Marian Wright Edelman who said, at my law school graduation speech in 1990:
"Don't be afraid of taking risks or being criticized. If you don't want to be criticized, don't say
anything, do anything or be anything. Don't be afraid of failing. It's the only way you learn to get
things right. It doesn't matter how many times you fall d o w n . All that matters is how may times
you get up. And don't wait for everybody to come along to get something done. It's always a few
people w h o get things done and keep things going. This country needs more wise and courageous
shepards and few sheep, w h o borrow from interigty to fund expediency."
She also said:
"Please remember and help America remember that the fellowship of human beings is more
important than the fellowship of race and class and gender in a democratic society. Be decent and
fair and insist that others be so in your presence. Dont' tell, laugh at or tolerate racial, ethnic,
religious or gencer jokes -- or any practices intended to demean rather than enhance another human
being. Walk away from them. Stare them d o w n . Make them unacceptable in your presence.
Through daily moral consciousness, counter the proliferating voices of racial and ethnic and religouis
division that are gaining respectability over the land. Let's face up to rather than ignore our growing
racial problelms, which are America's historic and futre Achilles hell.
How many more potential Colin Powells, Condoleezza Rices, Sally Rides, Barbara
McClintocks, Wilma Mankillers, Daniel Inouyes, and Cesar Chavezes is our nation going to waste
before it wakes up and recognizes that our ability to compete and lead is as inextricably intertwined
with its poor and non-white as with its white and priviliged ones, with its girls as well as w i t h its
boys?
And let's not spend a lot of useless time pinning nad denying blame rather than healing our
divisions. Rabbi Abraham Heschel put it aptly: "We are not all equally guilty, but we are all equally
responsible" for building a decent and just America."
The whole speech is unbelievably powerful, if anyone wants a copy.
Message Sent To:
�Cheryl D. Mills
0
Record Type:
To:
06/02/97 04:08:24 PM
Record
James T. Edmonds/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: Speech
So I don't know anything about speechwriting, but since you solicited comments, I thought I'd offer
my t w o scents (or less).
I think it would be nice if the POTUS ends his speech -- to the extent that he lays out a vision of
"One America" -- with the following quotation by Martin Niemoeller:
"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I w a s n ' t a
Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up bcause I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they
came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."
I want my child and all of t o m o r r o w ' s children to grow up in an America where they believe to
the very core of their being that when they come for One, they come for all. That's my vision
for One America.
Just some thoughts . . .
�THE
F\
WHITE
HOUSE
WASHINGTON
1U
C
\Y\d
lyiTf/psfi/]^
�PAGE
365TH STORY o f L e v e l 1 p r i n t e d i n FULL f o r m a t .
K
C o p y r i g h t 1996 M c C l a t c h y Newspapers, I n c .
Sacramento Bee
October
20,
1996,
METRO FINAL
SECTION: MAIN NEWS; Pg. A l
LENGTH: 4 62 7 words
HEADLINE: ANGER DRIVES KEY PROP. 209 SUPPORTER
BYLINE: James R i c h a r d s o n ,
Bee S t a f f
BODY:
Ward C o n n e r l y i s an a n g r y man.
Writer
Hisl i s t
o f reasons
i s long.
He i s a n g r y a b o u t t h e h a t e m a i l a n d t h e t h r e a t s . He i s a n g r y a b o u t o p p o n e n t s
who impugn h i s m o t i v e s . He i s a n g r y a b o u t a l a w s u i t a c c u s i n g h i m o f s e x u a l l y
h a r a s s i n g a n d a b u s i n g employees. Most o f a l l he i s a n g r y t h a t some p e o p l e want
t o e x p l a i n away h i s success w i t h t h e c o l o r o f h i s s k i n .
-His'
anger p r o p e l s ^ i i m .
"They d o n ' t e v e n l o o k a t my l i f e , " he s a i d i n a l e n g t h y i n t e r v i e w r e c e n t l y
w i t h The Bee. "They d o n ' t l o o k a t where I came f r o m . They make a l l t h e s e
o f f - t h e - w a l l statements t h a t I got i t from a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n . "
C o n n e r l y , 57, a Sacramento h o u s i n g c o n s u l t a n t , i s l e a d i n g t h e campaign t o
a p p r o v e P r o p o s i t i o n 209, w h i c h w o u l d r e p e a l t h r e e decades o f a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n
i n s t a t e a n d l o c a l government based on g e n d e r a n d r a c e .
He
c o n s i d e r s h i m s e l f a most u n l i k e l y
warrior.
U n t i l summer 1995, C o n n e r l y was s c a r c e l y known o u t s i d e h i s R o t a r y C l u b a n d
R e p u b l i c a n f u n d - r a i s i n g c i r c l e s . H i s n o t o r i e t y began when, as a U n i v e r s i t y o f
C a l i f o r n i a r e g e n t , he s p e a r h e a d e d t h e s u c c e s s f u l d r i v e t o a b o l i s h r a c e a n d
g e n d e r as a c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n a d m i s s i o n s , h i r i n g a n d c o n t r a c t i n g i n t h e
prestigious university.
A f e w months l a t e r , he t o o k o v e r a f o u n d e r i n g campaign t o g e t an i n i t i a t i v e
on t h e s t a t e b a l l o t t h a t w o u l d ban r a c e a n d g e n d e r p r e f e r e n c e s i n g o v e r n m e n t . He
h e l p e d r e s c u e i t f r o m o b l i v i o n and q u a l i f i e d i t f o r t h e November b a l l o t as
P r o p o s i t i o n 209. I f p o l l s a r e c o r r e c t , i t w i l l pass and C o n n e r l y w i l l r e a p t h e
c r e d i t - - o r blame.
I n l e a d i n g t h a t campaign, C o n n e r l y has t h r u s t h i m s e l f t o t h e f o r e f r o n t o f t h e
most c o n t e n t i o u s d e b a t e a b o u t r a c e i n a g e n e r a t i o n . And he has s u b j e c t e d h i m s e l f
t o t a u n t s , h a t r e d and t h r e a t s .
He has a l s o won a g r o w i n g c i r c l e o f a d m i r e r s even among t h o s e who d i s a g r e e
w i t h him.
"He t r u l y b e l i e v e s t h a t he i s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t h e s o l u t i o n , " s a i d Tony
M i l l e r , f o r m e r D e m o c r a t i c c a n d i d a t e f o r s e c r e t a r y o f s t a t e and an o l d f a m i l y
f r i e n d . "He i s n o t t i m i d t o a c t on h i s f e e l i n g s . "
�PAGE
Sacramento Bee, October 20,
9
1996
M i l l e r , who i s openly gay, noted t h a t Connerly has embraced homosexual
r i g h t s . "He has always been s u p p o r t i v e of me i n t h a t regard," s a i d M i l l e r .
However, one of Connerly's f e l l o w regents, Richard R u s s e l l , who i s an A f r i c a n
American, argued t h a t Connerly's views do not r e f l e c t r e a l i t y f o r most blacks
and L a t i n o s .
" I don't b e l i e v e everyone i n our s o c i e t y has equal o p p o r t u n i t y r i g h t now,"
said R u s s e l l . "Ward i s d i s p a r a g i n g of anything t o do w i t h the whole n o t i o n of
race. He acts as i f i t doesn't e x i s t or he doesn't want i t t o e x i s t . "
Some of those who have known Connerly the longest consider him an enigma.
"Ward's anger has always puzzled me a l i t t l e b i t , " s a i d Assemblyman P h i l l i p
Isenberg, D-Sacramento, who went t o c o l l e g e w i t h Connerly. " I t ' s out of
proportion."
Connerly i s known i n some c i r c l e s f o r h i s tempests.
At a l e g i s l a t i v e h e a r i n g l a s t year, Connerly blew up a t s t a t e Sen.
Watson, D-Los Angeles, c a l l i n g her a " b i g o t " and a " l i g h t w e i g h t . "
Diane
A f t e r student p i c k e t s damaged a lawn s p r i n k l e r a t h i s o f f i c e b u i l d i n g , he
sent UC an angry l e t t e r w i t h a b i l l f o r $ 25.
When Democratic Assemblyman John Burton, a recovered drug a d d i c t , l a b e l e d him
"despicable," Connerly dismissed him as "one of those people whose mind has been
f r a y e d over the years by a l o t of substances."
R u s s e l l , the f e l l o w regent, s a i d he and Connerly no longer speak. "Ward's a
very i n t o l e r a n t f e l l o w . "
Connerly h i m s e l f wonders a t h i s own angry o u t b u r s t s : " I t i s a good q u e s t i o n
and i t i s one t h a t I am working on, c a n d i d l y , so t h a t I can r i s e above i t . "
He says i t has something t o do w i t h the boxes people t r y t o f i t him i n .
"When someone says, "Well, you're A f r i c a n American,' I s t a r t t h i n k i n g of my
own r o o t s and I t h i n k , "Where i s t h a t ? ' I t ' s i n there probably somewhere, but I
don't know where."
Connerly r e s i s t s being c a t e g o r i z e d as anything but American. I n a pinch, he
w i l l say he i s a "black man" but he c a t e g o r i c a l l y r e j e c t s the l a b e l " A f r i c a n
American." He says i t j u s t does not f i t h i s mind-set or h i s o r i g i n s .
Wardell Anthony Connerly was born June 15, 1939, i n L e e s v i l l e , La., under the
t w i n burdens of the Great Depression and r a c i a l segregation. Both h i s parents
died before he was 4; he was reared by a succession of r e l a t i v e s i n a succession
of communities, ending up i n Sacramento's Del Paso Heights when he was about 10.
His f a m i l y d i d not f i t e a s i l y i n t o the black and white c a t e g o r i e s of the
time. A grandmother was a Choctaw I n d i a n ; a g r a n d f a t h e r was p a r t black, p a r t
I r i s h . His mother looked more Choctaw than A f r i c a n and a f t e r Connerly's f a t h e r
�PAGE
Sacramento Bee,
October 20,
10
1996
died, she married a Cajun.
"My whole f a m i l y at t h a t p o i n t was one of mulattoes, i n t e r m i x i n g people whose
i d e n t i t y became a m i x t u r e of t h i n g s , " Connerly explained. " I t i s d i f f i c u l t f o r
me t o t h i n k " b l a c k as a l o t of people expect me t o . "
1
Connerly remembers o n l y one r a c i a l i n c i d e n t from h i s youth, when an o l d white
man c a l l e d him a r a c i a l s l u r f o r p i c k i n g walnuts from h i s yard. Other than t h a t ,
he s a i d , " I don't r e c a l l being t r e a t e d l i k e a black man or being t r e a t e d any
d i f f e r e n t than anybody e l s e . "
Connerly graduated from Grant Union High School and went t o American River
College because, he s a i d , i t was a l l he could a f f o r d . He t r a n s f e r r e d t o what was
then Sacramento State College i n 1959.
He blossomed t h e r e . He was the f i r s t black t o pledge t o the Delta Phi Omega
f r a t e r n i t y , but he s a i d he d i d not t h i n k of himself as a " f i r s t . " Connerly was
e l e c t e d student body v i c e president i n 1961 and p r e s i d e n t i n 1962, more f i r s t s .
As a student p o l i t i c i a n , Connerly earned something of a r e p u t a t i o n f o r
high-handedness. His student government colleagues, i n f a c t , complained i n A p r i l
1962 t h a t Connerly disparaged them w i t h " s a r c a s t i c comments based on
p e r s o n a l i t i e s , " according t o an account a t the time i n the Hornet campus
newspaper.
The c i v i l r i g h t s movement l a r g e l y passed him by -- w i t h one exception.
Connerly l e d a student government study of housing d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n the River
Park neighborhood near campus. He phoned apartments and was t o l d by l a n d l o r d s
they would not r e n t t o someone "colored." White students who contacted the same
places were o f f e r e d a vacancy.
Connerly came away w i t h an a b i d i n g anger toward r a c i a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n and a
l i f e l o n g i n t e r e s t i n housing issues.
His view of race r e l a t i o n s was also s i g n i f i c a n t l y shaped by a white
professor, Robert Thompson, who he s a i d t o l d him "the day when I can c a l l you a
son of a b i t c h and not have you t h i n k t h a t I am a r a c i s t or t h a t t h e r e i s some
r a c i a l motive i n what I'm saying, t h a t ' s the day we w i l l have achieved
equality."
Connerly s a i d h i s view of race r e l a t i o n s has not been one of b u i l d i n g
i n t e r r a c i a l communities but of encouraging s t r o n g i n d i v i d u a l i s m . " I t h i n k we
should be able t o d i s l i k e each other f r e e l y w i t h o u t t h i n k i n g t h e r e i s some
racism i n v o l v e d , " he s a i d . " I t h i n k i t i s naive t o t h i n k we are going t o love
everybody t h a t we meet."
Connerly, along w i t h Isenberg and other c o l l e g e f r i e n d s , was a member of the
Young Democrats. But Isenberg r e c a l l e d t h a t Connerly, u n l i k e h i m s e l f , d i d not
set out on a p o l i t i c a l path.
"Ward had h i s eye on a business STYLs voided here career f o r a long time,"
Isenberg s a i d .
However, Connerly spent h i s e a r l y career i n and around government.
�PAGE
Sacramento Bee, October 20,
11
1996
In 1968 he met young Assemblyman Pete Wilson. Republicans had j u s t taken
c o n t r o l of the Assembly and Wilson was named chairman of the Committee on Urban
A f f a i r s and Housing. The two h i t i t o f f .
Connerly, who became a Republican, was h i r e d as Wilson's c h i e f
c o n s u l t a n t . Wilson a l s o became a mentor t o Connerly.
committee
Among the laws produced by the committee i n the next two years was one t h a t
r e q u i r e d c i t i e s and c o u n t i e s t o d r a f t plans, or "elements," f o r the expansion
and redevelopment of housing. The law spawned a new i n d u s t r y of housing element
consultants.
Wilson l e f t the Assembly a f t e r h i s e l e c t i o n as San Diego mayor i n 1971, and
Connerly landed a j o b i n the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of Gov. Ronald Reagan as c h i e f
deputy of the s t a t e Department of Housing and Community Development.
In 1972, the Los Angeles Times revealed t h a t Connerly was l e a s i n g 50 low-cost
housing u n i t s he owned t o the Sacramento Development A u t h o r i t y as p a r t of a
program c o o r d i n a t e d by h i s agency.
"not
The department got a l e g a l o p i n i o n concluding t h a t Connerly's leases were
n e c e s s a r i l y a p r o h i b i t e d c o n f l i c t of i n t e r e s t . "
The next year, Connerly and the department d i r e c t o r resigned amid c o n t r o v e r s y
over a d m i n i s t r a t i o n e f f o r t s t o downsize the agency. Connerly went i n t o p r i v a t e
business, t a k i n g advantage of h i s government experience.
For two decades, Connerly & Associates has been i n the f o r e f r o n t of the
l i t t l e - k n o w n but l u c r a t i v e business of w r i t i n g housing elements f o r communities
based on the law passed when Connerly worked i n the Assembly.
When Wilson was e l e c t e d governor i n 1990, he o f f e r e d Connerly a cabinet post
as s e c r e t a r y of business, t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and housing. Connerly, who had g i v e n $
65,000 t o Wilson's g u b e r n a t o r i a l campaign, turned i t down, saying i t would mean
a pay c u t .
Since then, Connerly and h i s f i r m have g i v e n Wilson an a d d i t i o n a l $ 46,000 i n
c o n t r i b u t i o n s . Connerly a l s o heads the foundation t h a t maintains Wilson's
Sacramento and Los Angeles homes.
Wilson turned t o Connerly again i n 1993. Under pressure t o appoint someone
besides white males t o the UC Board of Regents, Wilson asked Connerly t o accept
a seat on the non-paying board. Connerly accepted, although he s a i d he l i t t l e
r e a l i z e d what he was g e t t i n g i n t o .
At h i s f i r s t meeting, UC a d m i n i s t r a t o r s gave the board what he saw as a
s e l f - l a u d a t o r y b r i e f i n g on the u n i v e r s i t y ' s a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n programs.
" I t was l i k e being i n a f o r e i g n land f o r me," s a i d Connerly. " I had never i n
my l i f e had t h a t degree of exposure t o the r h e t o r i c of d i v e r s i t y . "
Connerly soon e s t a b l i s h e d himself as a maverick on the board, v o t i n g a g a i n s t
student fee increases proposed by UC a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . Other regents p r i v a t e l y
�PAGE
12
Sacramento Bee, O c t o b e r 20, 1996
t o o k h i m a s i d e -- C o n n e r l y s a i d t h e y t o o k h i m " b e h i n d t h e woodshed" -- and
c a u t i o n e d h i m t h a t t h e s t a i d b o a r d e x p e c t e d new members t o r e m a i n q u i e t .
He t o n e d i t down -- f o r a w h i l e .
I n f a l l 1994, C o n n e r l y r a i s e d t h e a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n i s s u e . A f a m i l y f r o m La
J o l l a , J e r r y and E l l e n Cook, had c o m p l a i n e d t h a t t h e i r son had been r e j e c t e d by
UC San Diego's m e d i c a l s c h o o l because he was w h i t e . They p r e s e n t e d C o n n e r l y w i t h
s t a t i s t i c a l e v i d e n c e t h a t s u g g e s t e d w h i t e s were a t a d i s a d v a n t a g e w i n n i n g
admission.
C o n n e r l y a g r e e d t o l o o k i n t o i t , and when he d i d , UC P r e s i d e n t Jack P e l t a s o n
e x p l a i n e d t o h i m t h a t , i n d e e d , A f r i c a n Americans and L a t i n o s were g i v e n
p r e f e r e n c e i n a d m i s s i o n s o v e r w h i t e s and A s i a n s . C o n n e r l y s a i d he was a g h a s t ,
t h a t i t went a g a i n s t e v e r y p r i n c i p l e he b e l i e v e d i n .
" I had n e v e r i n my l i f e
said.
seen t h i s k i n d o f b l a t a n t r a c i a l e n g i n e e r i n g , " he
That T h a n k s g i v i n g Day, C o n n e r l y t a l k e d w i t h W i l s o n , who a g r e e d t o back h i m i n
a push t o phase o u t r a c i a l p r e f e r e n c e s i n t h e nine-campus UC system.
Wilson's
b a c k i n g c a r r i e d a l o t o f w e i g h t ; n o t o n l y was he g o v e r n o r , he was p r e s i d e n t o f
the Board o f Regents.
UC a d m i n i s t r a t o r s asked f o r t i m e , g i v i n g t h e b o a r d a s e r i e s o f r e p o r t s on t h e
i s s u e o v e r t h e n e x t s i x months. C o n n e r l y s a i d he grew i n c r e a s i n g l y a n g r y a t what
he p e r c e i v e d as a f i l i b u s t e r .
" I t was a r r o g a n t , " s a i d C o n n e r l y . " I t was, "We're t h e b i g U n i v e r s i t y o f
C a l i f o r n i a , how d a r e y o u t a k e us on.' "
I n i t i a l l y , C o n n e r l y s a i d , he i n t e n d e d t o p r o p o s e p h a s i n g o u t a f f i r m a t i v e
a c t i o n by t h e y e a r 2000. B u t by t h e summer o f 1995 he wanted t o a b o l i s h i t
w i t h i n a year.
" I was g e t t i n g (angered) b y a l l o f t h i s , " s a i d C o n n e r l y . " I was p r o b a b l y
d r i v e n more b y b e i n g (angered) t h a n I was a b o u t t h e s u b s t a n c e o f t h e i s s u e . "
Connerly s a i d h i s anger kept him focused.
for
it.
"My anger d i d n o t c l o u d my j u d g m e n t , " he s a i d . " I mean, I d i d n ' t w a l k a r o u n d
s i x months as an a n g r y b l a c k man. My anger gave me t h e courage t o s t a y w i t h
I t d r o v e me t o s t a y i n t h e f i g h t . "
The b o a r d c o n v e n e d on J u l y 20, 1995, and a f t e r a t u m u l t u o u s 12-hour m e e t i n g ,
C o n n e r l y ' s p r o p o s a l was a p p r o v e d . I t was w i d e l y seen as a g a m b i t b y W i l s o n t o
jump-start h i s f a i l i n g p r e s i d e n t i a l b i d .
C o n n e r l y c r e d i t s t h e g o v e r n o r w i t h p r o v i d i n g t h e p o l i t i c a l muscle t o w i n t h a t
v o t e . But he i s e q u a l l y peeved a t t h e p e r c e p t i o n t h a t i t was W i l s o n who
spearheaded t h e i s s u e , n o t h i m s e l f .
"I'm n o t Pete W i l s o n ' s l a c k e y , " he s a i d . "The odds w e r e n ' t f a i r : C o n n e r l y up
a g a i n s t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , f o r God's sake! There had t o be an
e q u a l i z e r b r o u g h t i n t o t h e e q u a t i o n . And Pete W i l s o n was t h e e q u a l i z e r . "
�PAGE
13
Sacramento Bee, O c t o b e r 20, 1996
The UC a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n v o t e l e d C o n n e r l y d i r e c t l y t o h i s l e a d e r s h i p o f
P r o p o s i t i o n 209. L a s t s p r i n g , t h e i n i t i a t i v e was i n s e r i o u s danger o f n o t
q u a l i f y i n g f o r t h e b a l l o t . The a u t h o r s asked C o n n e r l y t o t a k e o v e r t h e campaign,
but C o n n e r l y r e f u s e d .
By t h e n , h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h some r e g e n t s was i n t a t t e r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h
f e l l o w R e p u b l i c a n Roy Brophy o f F a i r Oaks. Brophy, a l o n g - t i m e b o a r d s t a l w a r t
but on t h e l o s i n g s i d e o f t h e a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n v o t e , was e s p e c i a l l y i r k e d t h a t
C o n n e r l y shoved a s i d e o b j e c t i o n s f r o m campus c h a n c e l l o r s and f a c u l t y .
"He has some p o r t , some d e s t i n a t i o n i n mind and I d o n ' t know what i t i s , "
s a i d Brophy. "He's a p a r a d o x . "
C o n n e r l y s a i d he made up h i s mind l a s t T h a n k s g i v i n g Day t o c h a i r t h e campaign
s h o r t l y a f t e r Brophy w r o t e an o p i n i o n a r t i c l e i n The Bee p r o c l a i m i n g t h a t i f t h e
c o n t r o v e r s i a l i n i t i a t i v e d i d n o t q u a l i f y f o r t h e b a l l o t , he w o u l d a s k t h e
r e g e n t s t o r e v e r s e t h e C o n n e r l y - i n s p i r e d a b o l i t i o n o f UC's a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n .
"That d i d i t , " s a i d C o n n e r l y . "When ( t h e p r o p o s e d i n i t i a t i v e ) i s weak and on
i t s b e l l y (Brophy) comes i n and t h r e a t e n s . . . . What have I g o t t o l o s e ?
A n o t h e r y e a r o r so o f p u b l i c e x p o s u r e , b u t I s a l v a g e what we've a l r e a d y done."
to
of
Brophy r e s p o n d e d : " I s he s a y i n g t h a t he d i s l i k e s me so much t h a t he d e c i d e s
head up one o f t h e most c o n t r o v e r s i a l b a l l o t i s s u e s o f a l l t i m e j u s t because
Brophy? I'm f l a t t e r e d . "
The
two r e g e n t s now b a r e l y speak t o each o t h e r .
As c h a i r m a n o f t h e P r o p o s i t i o n 209 campaign, C o n n e r l y has been t r a v e l i n g t h e
s t a t e l i k e a c a n d i d a t e f o r o f f i c e . He i n s i s t s he has no p o l i t i c a l a s p i r a t i o n s o f
h i s own, and l o o k s f o r w a r d t o t a k i n g a l o w e r p r o f i l e once t h e e l e c t i o n i s o v e r .
" T h i s T h a n k s g i v i n g Day I w i l l s i t back and r e l i s h t h e v i c t o r y , and I w i l l
t e l l my g r a n d d a u g h t e r "You won't have t o d e a l w i t h a l l t h i s r a c e - c o n s c i o u s n e s s ,
I hope, i n t h e f u t u r e . ' And I can g e t back t o my b u s i n e s s , " he s a i d .
As C o n n e r l y ' s p u b l i c p r o f i l e has r i s e n , he has come under i n c r e a s e d media
a t t e n t i o n . A l a w s u i t f i l e d i n May by a f o r m e r employee, a l l e g i n g he s e x u a l l y
h a r a s s e d f e m a l e w o r k e r s , s u r f a c e d t h i s month and was t h e s u b j e c t o f e m b a r r a s s i n g
news a c c o u n t s .
the
"There i s no l i m i t t o t h e i r d i r t , "
s u i t t o campaign o p p o n e n t s .
Connerly said,
linking revelations
about
But l a w y e r s f o r Donna Ransom, t h e f o r m e r employee, have r e s p o n d e d t h a t t h e
c o m p l a i n t a g a i n s t C o n n e r l y was i n t h e l e g a l p r o c e s s l o n g b e f o r e h i s i n v o l v e m e n t
i n t h e campaign.
" T h i s i s n o t g o b b l e d y g o o k , " s a i d a t t o r n e y Thea O f f e n b a c h e r . "We d i d n ' t p l a n
on 209. We w o u l d have had t o go back y e a r s t o p l a n t h e f i l i n g o f t h i s . "
C o n n e r l y i s a l s o t h e t a r g e t o f a s t e a d y volume o f h a t e m a i l . The l e t t e r s
him "Uncle Tom" and worse.
call
�*
PAGE
Sacramento
Bee,
14
O c t o b e r 20, 1996
C o n n e r l y t r i e s t o keep h i m s e l f open t o d i a l o g u e , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h
students.
A t one a p p e a r a n c e , C o n n e r l y was c o n f r o n t e d b y Jamal M a r t i n , a 1 7 - y e a r - o l d
s e n i o r a t O a k l a n d H i g h S c h o o l , who c a l m l y t o l d h i m t h a t w i t h o u t o p p o r t u n i t i e s
p r o v i d e d by a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n many o f h i s p e e r s w i l l t u r n t o c r i m e .
"Why do y o u b e l i e v e t h a t ? Because o t h e r p e o p l e t e l l you?" C o n n e r l y a s k e d .
"You t h i n k I want t o h u r t my p e o p l e ? You r e a l l y t h i n k t h a t ? "
The
how
17-year-old replied,
"I
have no comment," a n d w a l k e d away.
A t a r e c e n t b r e a k f a s t m e e t i n g i n Los A n g e l e s , C o n n e r l y was asked b y r e p o r t e r s
he d e a l s w i t h t h e h a t r e d d i r e c t e d a t h i m .
" I t ' s h a r d e n e d me -- i t ' s h a r d e n e d me a l o t , " he r e p l i e d . " I r e c a l l t h e f i r s t
few months o f t h i s w h o l e e x p e r i e n c e , I w o u l d s i t a r o u n d and r e a d l e t t e r s , a n d
some o f them have j u s t been v i c i o u s . I w o u l d r e a d l e t t e r s and c a r t o o n s t h a t were
w r i t t e n , and I w o u l d l o o k a t them f o r h o u r s a l m o s t , and I w o u l d g e t up f r o m my
desk a n d w a l k a r o u n d a n d p o u t a n d be a n g r y a n d a l l o f t h a t . "
"Now
I g e t them a n d I a l m o s t a l w a y s t h r o w them away."
Bee s t a f f w r i t e r s S t e p h e n Green o f The Bee C a p i t o l Bureau and L a u r a Mecoy i n
Los A n g e l e s c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h i s s t o r y .
FOR MORE INFO
The Bee's c o m p l e t e c o v e r a g e o f Campaign '96 -- s t o r i e s , columns a n d
e d i t o r i a l s -- i s a v a i l a b l e on t h e I n t e r n e t a t http://www.sacbee.com
GRAPHIC: Ward C o n n e r l y
He says t h e A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n l a b e l d o e s n ' t f i t h i s m i n d - s e t o r h i s o r i g i n s .
A s s o c i a t e d P r e s s p h o t o g r a p h / Sam M o r r i s
UC Regent Ward C o n n e r l y l i s t e n s t o b u d g e t a r y m a t t e r s a t a b o a r d m e e t i n g l a s t
week.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: O c t o b e r 2 1 , 1996
�PAGE
2
1ST STORY of Level 1 p r i n t e d i n FULL format.
Copyright 19 97 McClatchy Newspapers, I n c .
Sacramento Bee
June 10, 1997, STATE FINAL
SECTION: MAIN NEWS; Pg. A3
LENGTH: 974 words
HEADLINE: CONNERLY WARNS CLINTON ON RACE RELATIONS;i-TALK
BYLINE: Ken Chavez, Bee C a p i t o l Bureau
BODY :
C a l i f o r n i a ' s l e a d i n g a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n c r i t i c warned President C l i n t o n on
Monday not t o l i n k the e f f o r t t o e l i m i n a t e race and gender preferences i n
government programs t o hate crimes when he makes a key address on race r e l a t i o n s
l a t e r t h i s week i n San Diego.
Sacramentan Ward Connerly, the U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a regent who
spearheaded l a s t year's P r o p o s i t i o n 209 campaign, s a i d a number o f f a c t o r s lead
him t o b e l i e v e t h a t C l i n t o n w i l l attempt t o l i n k the two issues. Among them are
the p r e s i d e n t ' s o p p o s i t i o n t o P r o p o s i t i o n 209, h i s renewed focus on hate crimes
and h i s d e c i s i o n t o d e l i v e r h i s speech a t Saturday's commencement ceremony a t UC
San Diego.
" A l l o f those t h i n g s i n t h e i r t o t a l i t y t e l l me t h a t the p r e s i d e n t i s indeed
going t o l i n k v i o l e n c e and the spread of racism i n America t o d i v e r s i t y , t o the
need t o continue a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n , " Connerly s a i d .
State Sen. Quentin Kopp, I-San Francisco, a Connerly a l l y , s a i d i t would be
" i n t e l l e c t u a l l y dishonest" f o r t h e p r e s i d e n t t o discuss the move t o e l i m i n a t e
a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n w i t h i n t h e context o f a hate-crimes speech.
"The p r e s i d e n t ' s e f f o r t , which i s t r a n s p a r e n t , which i s t o render the
a b o l i t i o n o f r a c i a l and gender preferences as an aspect o f hate crimes i n the
United States, i s an i n d i g n i t y i n terms o f h i s o f f i c e , " he s a i d .
A White House spokeswoman, however, s a i d C l i n t o n has no i n t e n t i o n o f t y i n g
the a n t i - a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n movement t o crimes o f v i o l e n c e t h a t are based on
race, r e l i g i o n , e t h n i c i t y and sexual preference. "The p r e s i d e n t ' s speech on
Saturday w i l l look much more b r o a d l y a t race r e l a t i o n s , " said the spokeswoman,
J u l i e Green.
Abbie Wolf, a San Francisco spokeswoman f o r the Anti-Defamation League, one
of t h e n a t i o n ' s l e a d i n g a u t h o r i t i e s on hate crimes, s a i d i t i s d i f f i c u l t f o r her
t o see how a d i s c u s s i o n o f hate crimes could a f f e c t the debate over a f f i r m a t i v e
action.
"They are j u s t two completely d i s t i n c t issues worthy of a n a l y s i s and a c t i o n ,
but one does not hinge upon the other," she s a i d .
C l i n t o n ' s commencement address a t UC San Diego i s expected t o serve as a
launching p o i n t f o r the p r e s i d e n t ' s new i n i t i a t i v e a g a i n s t racism.
�PAGE
Sacramento Bee,
3
June 10, 19 97
The W h i t e House has l e t i t be known t h a t C l i n t o n i s l i k e l y t o announce t h e
c r e a t i o n o f an a d v i s o r y p a n e l o n r a c e r e l a t i o n s a n d t h a t he i n t e n d s t o h o l d t o w n
m e e t i n g s on t h e t o p i c .
I n h i s n a t i o n a l r a d i o a d d r e s s o v e r t h e weekend, C l i n t o n s a i d he a l s o w i l l
convene a W h i t e House c o n f e r e n c e on h a t e c r i m e s , w h i c h has been s c h e d u l e d f o r
November.
I n a n t i c i p a t i o n o f S a t u r d a y ' s speech by t h e p r e s i d e n t , C o n n e r l y r e l e a s e d a
r a d i o commercial produced by t h e American C i v i l R i g h t s I n s t i t u t e , t h e
n o t - f o r - p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n he f o u n d e d t o promote P r o p o s i t i o n 209 n a t i o n w i d e .
The measure, w h i c h c a l l s f o r a ban on r a c e and gender p r e f e r e n c e s i n
government h i r i n g , c o n t r a c t i n g a n d e d u c a t i o n , was a d o p t e d b y C a l i f o r n i a v o t e r s
l a s t y e a r . B u t t h e i n i t i a t i v e ' s i m p l e m e n t a t i o n has been d e l a y e d b y a c h a l l e n g e
i n f e d e r a l c o u r t , where t h e C l i n t o n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and o t h e r s have f i l e d m o t i o n s
a r g u i n g t h a t t h e i n i t i a t i v e s h o u l d be s t r u c k down as u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l .
I n h i s r a d i o ads, C o n n e r l y c a n be h e a r d t a l k i n g t o a young g i r l , who b e g i n s
t h e d i a l o g u e w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n , "Does i t m a t t e r what c o l o r someone i s ? "
A t one p o i n t , C o n n e r l y t e l l s t h e c h i l d , " I hope P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n w i l l
announce a new p o l i c y . . . (He) s h o u l d s a y government w i l l s t o p u s i n g r a c e t o
d e c i d e who g e t s a j o b o r who s t a y s i n s c h o o l . "
A spokeswoman f o r C o n n e r l y ' s g r o u p w o u l d n o t s a y how much i s b e i n g s p e n t t o
a i r t h e ads, w h i c h a r e s c h e d u l e d t o r u n t h i s week i n San Diego, W a s h i n g t o n ,
D.C, H o u s t o n a n d Oklahoma C i t y .
GRAPHIC: Ward C o n n e r l y
He t o l d t h e p r e s i d e n t n o t t o l i n k a t t a c k s on p r e f e r e n c e s t o h a t e c r i m e s .
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: June 1 1 , 1997
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Michael Waldman
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Michael Waldman was Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting from 1995-1999. His responsibilities were writing and editing nearly 2,000 speeches, which included four State of the Union speeches and two Inaugural Addresses. From 1993 -1995 he served as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Coordination.</p>
<p>The collection generally consists of copies of speeches and speech drafts, talking points, memoranda, background material, correspondence, reports, handwritten notes, articles, clippings, and presidential schedules. A large volume of this collection was for the State of the Union speeches. Many of the speech drafts are heavily annotated with additions or deletions. There are a lot of articles and clippings in this collection.</p>
<p>Due to the size of this collection it has been divided into two segments. Use links below for access to the individual segments:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+1">Segment One</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+2">Segment Two</a></p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Michael Waldman
Office of Speechwriting
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993-1999
Identifier
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2006-0469-F
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
Segment One contains 1071 folders in 72 boxes.
Segment Two contains 868 folders in 66 boxes.
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
UCSD [University of California at San Diego]: Misc. Race Research from MW [Michael Waldman] Office [2]
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 53
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36404"> Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763296">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0469-F Segment 2
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Preservation-Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
6/3/2015
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
7763296
42-t-7763296-20060469F-Seg2-053-009-2015