Bush affirms he's a man of action -- for whites Final Edition

• Published in: Milwaukee journal sentinel
• Main Author: Jackson, Derrick
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Milwaukee, Wis Journal Sentinel Inc 18.01.2003
• Subjects: Bush, George (President); Jackson, Derrick
• ISSN: 1082-8850

As expected, President [Bush] restored affirmative action programs for white people. "Racial prejudice is a reality in America," Bush declared Wednesday in his landmark speech from the White House. "It hurts many of our citizens. . . . America's long experience with the segregation we have put behind us and the racial discrimination we still struggle to overcome requires a special effort to make real the promise of equal opportunity for all." In standing with the white women, Bush blasted Michigan's program, which awards bonus points to African-American, American Indian and some Latino students in order to account for historical disadvantages. Bush called it a "quota system." He said: "Students are being selected or rejected primarily on the color of their skin. The motivation for such an admissions policy may be very good, but its result is discrimination, and that discrimination is wrong." Bush has said nothing about bonus points for white people in job interviews. Studies show over and over again that African-Americans and Latinos with the same resume as white applicants are rejected far more often than white applicants. The silent bonus point system is so pernicious that a recent study by researchers at the University of Chicago and MIT found that job applicants in Chicago and Boston with "white sounding" names received 50% more callbacks than "black sounding" names.