5644: Affirmative Inaction.

The story below appeared via The Associated Press. Scan it quickly to read the MultiCultClassics perspective immediately following…

Is Obama the end of affirmative action?
Some say his success makes controversial policy obsolete

By The Associated Press

Washington—Barack Obama’s political success might claim an unintended victim: affirmative action, a much-debated policy he supports.

Already weakened by several court rulings and state referendums, affirmative action now confronts a challenge to its very reason for existing. If Americans make a black person the leading contender for president, as nationwide polls suggest, how can racial prejudice be so prevalent and potent that it justifies special efforts to place minorities in coveted jobs and schools?

“The primary rationale for affirmative action is that America is institutionally racist and institutionally sexist,” said Ward Connerly, the leader of state-by-state efforts to end what he and others consider policies of reverse discrimination. “That rationale is undercut in a major way when you look at the success of Senator Clinton and Senator Obama.”

Other critics of affirmative action agree. “Obama is further evidence that the great majority of Americans reject discrimination, reject prejudice,” said Todd F. Gaziano, a scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Not so fast, say supporters of affirmative action. Just because Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and other minorities have reached the top of their professions does not mean that ordinary blacks, Latinos or women are free from day-to-day biases that deny them equal access to top schools or jobs, they say.

As affirmative action’s power has diminished, minority enrollment has fallen at many prominent colleges, said Gary Orfield, an authority on the subject at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“If people get the impression from Obama’s success that the racial problems of this country have been solved, that would be very sad,” Orfield said. “In some ways we have moved backwards” in recent years, he said.

Wade Henderson, head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said, “Exceptions don’t make the rule.”

“By any measure, Obama and Clinton are clearly exceptional individuals,” he said. “When you really examine the masses of Americans, especially women and people of color, you still find incredible disparities,” which justify the continuation of affirmative action programs.

Obama, who asks voters neither to support nor oppose him on the basis of his race, has dealt gently with affirmative action. He says his two young daughters have enjoyed great advantages and therefore should not receive special consideration because of their race.

OK, this topic was technically discussed a few weeks ago, but the new story inspired additional thoughts.

First, it should be noted Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton might question eliminating affirmative action measures, as she indicated throughout her failed campaign that the ladies still have glass ceilings to shatter—despite the fact that White women have benefited the greatest from affirmative action.

Of course, things are clearly worse in the advertising industry, as we consistently drag behind the general population on such matters by a couple decades at least. It wasn’t too long ago that Neil French exposed the ugliness. A recent Advergirl post seems to confirm gender-based inequities persist. Why, it’s so messed up, even the admen are crying sexual harassment and discrimination.

The problems are significantly compounded when considering the other groups affected by our industry’s tradition of exclusivity. More importantly, few are disputing the issues on Madison Avenue. Instead, the majority of adpeople openly admit there’s a humongous quagmire.

4As President-CEO Nancy Hill acknowledged “the dearth of African-American executives in our ranks” and said, “Yes, increasing the number of ethnically and racially diverse employees in agencies—particularly African-Americans in the senior ranks—is a critical business imperative for us all.”

Recognizing the need to step it up is a common sentiment, whether delivering positive hype or not. For example, when addressing the diversity progress at IPG, Executive Vice President Philippe Krakowsky stated, “While last year’s [hiring] results are encouraging, we still have lots of work ahead of us.” Mike Hughes of The Martin Agency told a contributor at The Big Tent, “We’ve done a pretty poor job on diversity as an industry and we’ve got to do better.” The legendary Dan Wieden once blurted, “I will not stand here and try to make excuses for the number of African-Americans we’ve hired. It’s pathetic. There’s a lot more we can do.” Hey, you know it’s bad when the White folks in charge are griping about the slowness of change.

The general public can debate if affirmative action should end. But on Madison Avenue, the honest professionals are wondering when the hell such initiatives will begin.