Civil Rights Is the GOP’s Mission

When Gen. Colin L. Powell steps before the microphone tonight in San Diego and addresses the Republican convention, the nation will be reminded why he is one of America’s most impressive public figures and one of the GOP’s brightest political stars.

Many of us hope that he will use this opportunity to reaffirm his previously stated commitment to equal treatment under the law and his opposition to race-based preferences. This would have a tonic effect on the frayed, deteriorating race relations in America.

What has gone wrong? A major part of the answer is that we turned away from the simple, compelling principle that racial discrimination is wrong. Thirty years ago, the animating spirit of the civil rights movement was noble: America as a colorblind society, de jure and de facto, true to the principle of equal justice. The most eloquent embodiment of that movement was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose dream was an America that judged individuals by the “content of their character” and not “the color of their skin.”

During the past 30 years, that dream has been deferred--primarily by the civil rights leaders who now claim to be King’s heirs. The grand vision of a colorblind society has been replaced by something ugly, narrow and pernicious: a color-conscious society in which race-based discrimination has become the centerpiece of the liberal civil rights agenda.

For a government to discriminate by race is inherently wrong and inevitably divisive. It is a clear violation of both the 14th Amendment’s promise of equal protection and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that “no person .J.J. shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation, or be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

What have been the real-world effects of race-based preferences? Among other things, they have helped Balkanize America, put group rights ahead of individual rights, disfigured the concept of equal justice, increased the alienation of many black Americans toward the rest of society, fanned the flames of racial resentment, diminished the moral authority of the civil rights movement, diverted attention away from the most pressing problems plaguing black America--bad schools, violent crime, an out-of-wedlock birth rate above 70%--and placed what author Shelby Steele calls “the stigma of questionable competence” on many blacks.

It is also worth noting the extent to which political discourse in America has been debased by people like Jesse Jackson, who wields a racial branding iron against those who oppose his radical and polarizing political agenda. His goal is to sideline an important national debate. But one of the unintended consequences of this strategy is that people who throw around accusations of racism recklessly and indiscriminately are emptying the charge of any real meaning. When people like Jackson make virtually no distinction between the Ku Klux Klan and those who support reforms in welfare or the criminal justice system, they should not be taken seriously, because they are not serious. Consider this irony: We now have those within the so-called civil rights movement declaring that people who oppose government sponsored race discrimination are racists.

So, it is now left to courageous people like Ward Connerly, chairman of the California Civil Rights Initiative (Proposition 209), and the citizens of California to continue the great civil rights tradition set forth by Dr. King. The CCRI is among the most important political issues of this decade; its passage would over the long term dramatically alter--and improve--race relations. It would repair some of the damage done by race-based preference policies. It would codify the belief that racial discrimination is wrong. And it recognizes that the way to achieve a colorblind society is to actually be a colorblind society, in law and in spirit.

The Democratic Party (with a few honorable exceptions) has given up on Dr. King’s dream. Which means that the GOP is the only major political party that is willing to put America back on track toward a colorblind society.

One of the GOP’s most articulate figures recently wrote that “[racial] discrimination ‘for’ one group means, inevitably, discrimination ‘against’ another, and all discrimination is offensive.” He went on to say, “Our Constitution and our national conscience demand that every American be accorded dignity and respect, receive the same treatment under law, and enjoy equal opportunity.” Noble sentiments, these words. Sentiments worthy of one of America’s most respected figures. Let us hope that tonight Gen. Powell gives public voice to these words he wrote just a year ago, as a continuation of his American Journey.