Has the pendulum swung back to the days before Brown vs. Board of Education?
JC: Yes, some sort of pendulum is swinging, but it is still moving, and I don t know where it will stop. In my view, affirmative action is not the core issue, and equality or equity of opportunity is the core issue. I see affirmative action as a management technique a mechanism to keep the system honest. There are more ways than one to do that. I see equality of opportunity as the core value and core test of our success in teaching students the hard courses early, well and successfully; in identifying and recruiting student bodies that look like America; and in opening access to all of our programs of study to any and every student who makes effective use of access to prepare herself or himself for success. Management systems are important, but they are not sufficient. The core issues are commitment and wisdom in providing for young people the tools they use to build their own futures. This excerpt from the Jan. 2 issue of Black Issues in Higher Education is reprinted with permission.
