50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act

Roger CleggVoting Rights

This month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and I was asked by the National Constitution Center to write something on that topic for them, which I was happy to do: Let’s Keep the 1965 Voting Rights Act Focused on Actual Racial Discrimination The 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed because of the appalling denial to African Americans of the right to vote in, especially, the Deep South.  There was and is an overwhelming national consensus that such discrimination is wrong, and this consensus was and is bipartisan.  Indeed, it’s interesting that Republicans voted in favor of …

Lawyers and Other Felons

Roger CleggUncategorized

I’ll be traveling to Chicago this week for the American Bar Association’s annual meeting, where I’ve been invited to talk about voting law issues and the upcoming elections in 2016.  I plan to make three points. First, lawmakers should resist demands that felons be automatically re-enfranchised on the day they walk out of prison (currently, only two states — Maine and Vermont — allow prison inmates to vote).  If you aren’t willing to follow the law yourself, then you can’t demand a role in making the law for everyone else, which is what you do when you vote.  Or, to …

Politically Correct Discrimination in Silicon Valley and in the Groves of Academe

Roger CleggRacial Preferences

There was an article in the Washington Post a few days ago about Silicon Valley’s “diversity problem.”  The problem is that there aren’t enough minority workers there, if you define “minority” to exclude Asians of course.  But, have no fear, companies are trying hard to remedy this deficiency by hiring more African Americans and Latinos, under pressure from the likes of Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Well, actually there is something to fear here.  It is illegal to sort, hire, and promote people based on race, color, or national origin, as I testified to the U.S. Equal Employment …

Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz

Starbucks Announces New Effort to Break the Law

Roger CleggEmployment

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Starbucks Corp. is teaming up with more than a dozen companies in a commitment to increase hiring of young, minority workers over the next three years.”  It’s unclear from the article exactly how race and ethnicity are to be used in the hiring process.  The definition of “minority” is also not spelled out, though as is often the case some minorities seem to be more equal than others (blacks and Latinos are mentioned, but no one else).   Nor is it clear what the justification is for this nonsense. Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz …

Some Serious Laughter

Roger CleggUncategorized

There is, again, an amusing disconnect on the Left between diagnosis and prescription for what ails American race relations. Last year, the outrage prompted by supposedly entrenched racism and the asserted brutality of our police led to a passionate demand for … fewer traffic tickets and less vigorous enforcement of our drug laws. Now, the murderous racism that allegedly permeates all White Amerikkka must be remedied by … fewer Confederate flags. What’s going on here, of course, is that the amount of racism that remains in America is being exaggerated by the Left in order to advance its political agenda. …

A “Disparate Impact” against Justice

Roger CleggDisparate Impact

The Supreme Court last week ruled 5–4 (Justice Kennedy writing the majority opinion, joined by the four liberals) that “disparate impact” claims may be brought under the Fair Housing Act. The Court’s decision is, needless to say, disappointing. It fails to follow the clear language of the statute, and it will encourage race-based decision-making in the housing area — exactly what the Fair Housing Act was meant to prohibit. The only silver lining is that Justice Kennedy’s opinion itself recognizes this problem, and some of the language toward the end will be useful in stemming the worst abuses. To elaborate: …

Teaching and the Times

Roger CleggUncategorized

“Tough Tests for Teachers, With Question of Bias” was the front-page, above-the-fold headline on a story last week in the New York Times. It discusses the fact that “minority candidates” — meaning African Americans and Hispanics — are not doing as well as whites in passing teacher-licensing exams. I have low expectations of the Times for a story like this, so I was pleasantly surprised that it at least acknowledged the arguments that, gee, maybe there’s some logic to requiring some basic level of competence among schoolteachers. But I still have several complaints. First, the article (starting with the headline) suggests …

Political Correctness — Racial Diversity and Speech Uniformity

Roger CleggUncategorized

Two items of note late last week, race-wise (alas, of course, there are always more than that, but just two for now).  First — as we noted early but was since then widely discussed here, there, and everywhere — the head of the Spokane branch of the NAACP now stands accused of being white. Of course, you can be white and still be a member of the NAACP, but the claim is that this lady knowingly misrepresented her melanin content.  Comparisons with faux–Native American Elizabeth Warren and faux-woman Caitlyn Jenner were, of course, inevitable. Second, there was an interesting article in …

Hillary Clinton’s Voting-Rights Speech

Roger CleggVoting Rights

Two observations on Hillary Clinton’s voting-rights speech last Thursday:  First, it contained the predictable race-baiting demagogy — e.g., “what is happening is a sweeping effort to disempower and disenfranchise people of color . . .” No, what is happening is the usual effort to strike the right balance between facilitating voting by eligible voters and preventing voting by ineligible voters. If there is evidence of racial discrimination, the courts are open for business.  Second, she showed, again predictably, her impatience with constitutional limits on federal power, in this case by endorsing federal legislation that would force states to allow felons …

Minority Access to Higher Education

Roger CleggEducation

Last week I testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights at their two-day event on minority access to higher education.  The Commission, which is now dominated 6-2 by liberals, deserves credit for inviting me, since I certainly did not tell the Commissioners what most of them wanted to hear.  Below is a summary of my statement; I’ve deleted the numerous legal and social-science citations, but you can read the full statement here. Introduction.  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Roger Clegg, and I am president and general counsel of the …