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Civil Rights Activist Ward Connerly Speaks At University of Louisville

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

Louisville KY March 6, 2007 – This afternoon, Ward Connerly spoke to a standing room only crowd of over 500 people at the University of Louisville on the topic of affirmative action.  Connerly said he wants this country to get beyond the issue of race, particularly with respect to government policies, and he believes universities should engage in an on-going dialog on that issue, even though he realizes it is a very emotional topic for many people.

Connerly said his ideas about race were formed as a black child growing up in the South.  His father was not in the picture when he was growing up, his mother died when he was four years old, and he was raised by an aunt and a grandmother.  He and other blacks were treated as second class citizens because of their race.  He said he did not think it was right then for the government to treat people differently based on their race, and he does not think it is right now.  That is why he is working to eliminate government policies based on race.  He said blacks lose their moral authority when they urge the government to favor one race over another.  That is contrary to the principles of equal rights on which the country was founded, and it is contrary to the golden rule – of treating others the way you want to be treated yourself.

Connerly recounted the history of affirmative action, saying it began under President Kennedy to eliminate government policies that treated people differently based on race, which is a policy he supports. However, he said, affirmative action “went sideways” under President Lyndon Johnson and became a program under which the government favored some races over others.  He opposes that type of affirmative action and thinks it should end.

Questioners accused Connerly of not wanting blacks to succeed, of allowing himself to be used to advance the goals of rich white men, and of taking advantage of race-based policies himself while wanting to eliminate their benefits for others.  Connerly disagreed with all of those statements. 

Connerly said he favors the advancement and success of blacks and everyone else.  He is very glad to see Senator Obama being treated as a serious candidate who actually could become president and believes it shows that the country has come a long way on the issue of race.  He said he never benefited from any programs that gave advantages to blacks over whites.  Connerly also said it is not the job of government to “level the playing field”, only to treat everyone equally before the law, regardless of race.

Connerly said he has been successful in business and is his own person.  He is not directed or controlled by anyone else but instead is pursuing his own agenda.  While some people his age decide to play golf, he has decided to dedicate himself to this issue, because he thinks it is very important to the future of the country.  He said, when he was growing up, black people had a wide variety of opinions on various topics, and he does not think it is right for people to accuse him of not being black enough simply because he does not agree with them. 

Connerly also said he supports college admissions programs in public universities that would favor low income students and those whose parents have never attended college.  He does not think public universities should favor students because their parents attended the university (legacy admissions).  He said it is perfectly fine for private individuals and organizations to establish scholarships for people of particular races, but they should not use the publicly-funded university to administer such scholarships.

Many blacks attended the event, and many of them did not applaud and rolled their eyes or otherwise indicated disagreement with Connerly’s views, but the crowd generally was respectful and allowed Connerly to speak without interruption.  There also were many blacks in attendance who applauded Connerly.     

For more information about Ward Connerly’s campaign regarding affirmative action, go to his web site http://www.acri.org/

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