The so-called Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI) seeks not only to abolish affirmative action in higher education, but to also end race and gender-conscious programs in employment, contracting, educational and professional outreach, and public health.

The MCRI is anything but the homegrown initiative it purports to be. It is in fact a policy import from California envisioned by Ward Connerly, a wealthy businessman and University of California Regent. Connerly’s MCRI is based on the identical “California Civil Rights Initiative,” commonly known as Proposition 209, which passed in 1996 and effectively abolished affirmative action and equal opportunity programs throughout the state.

This corrosive proposition to end affirmative action in California abruptly rolled back the progress made in interracial and cross-ethnic relations, the advancement of women, and the empowerment of marginalized communities. The particular consequences of Proposition 209’s aftermath are well documented, and serve as a living testament of what “re-segregation looks like.” As a student at both Michigan and California, I will like to share my experience so that Michigan readers will understand what this state will face if the MCRI is not defeated at the ballots on November 7th.

First of all, understand that California is the most diverse state in the union, boasting the fastest growing minority population, and Los Angeles itself is home to the largest Latino population in the United States, as well as many other ethnic communities. The University of California schools are historically among the most progressive campuses in the country.

After 1996, with the passage of Proposition 209, the University of California started looking more and more like the University of Alabama. Circa 1954.

When I began my legal education at the University of California in 2001, I was immediately taken aback by the scarcity of minority students, not only on the campus at large, but also within the law school. I was aware that affirmative action had been terminated in California, but the imagery and atmosphere of a re-segregated university immediately struck me – particularly when juxtaposed with the vibrant diversity at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, where I completed my undergraduate studies only months before.

At the law school, the number of African American students could be counted on a single hand, while the number of Latino and Native American students was sparse as well. The California Civil Rights Initiative not only retarded campus diversity – the effects transcend sheer numbers – but more corrosively handicapped the almost invisible community of students of color in a multitude of ways: isolating them from the general academic community, stifling their participation in the classroom, imposing the burden of “representing your community as the token representative on campus,” and generally, creating an unwelcoming climate to learn
and grow.

In the spring of 2003, I marched with a coalition of UCLA students along with thousands – a diverse array of students, professionals and activists – in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. as the Court heard both the Gratz and Grutter affirmative action cases. It was a bittersweet experience for the students from California who made the trip: empowering, in that we were part of such a momentous event and diverse collective of people, yet a sharp reminder of what our campuses, and educations lacked.

The radical scope of the MCRI in Michigan, like California’s Proposition 209, will eliminate affirmative action and equal opportunity programs in employment, contracting, educational outreach for children and high school students, scholarships, and public health programs designed for women and men. The broad language of the ballot proposal, which will enjoin “state governments, local governments, public colleges and universities, community colleges and school districts” from employing race and gender conscious programs of any sort, will impact not only women and African Americans, but also other ethnic communities, parents and schoolchildren, Michigan businesses and the economy at large. Most importantly, its tone not only ignores the rippling effect of hundreds of year of de jure segregation, but also turns a blind eye to the institutional racism still taking place today.

The array of civil rights, business, religious, social and political organizations which have joined One United Michigan, reflect the breadth of Michigan citizens whom will be hurt by the MCRI, and the strength and diversity of the coalition. Together, Michigan citizens are coming to realize that we cannot afford to have Ward Connerly import this backwards notion of “civil rights” into Michigan. Its radical scope will impair us a state and as individuals, in all walks of life.

Khaled A. Beydoun is the Affirmative Action Coordinator for the ACLU of Michigan. He is from Detroit, and is a graduate of University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and the UCLA
School of Law.