One of the primary reasons I voted for Barack Obama, was my hope that any judge President Obama selects for appointment to the Supreme Court would be smart, precise thinking and equipped with a deep knowledge of our Constitution and legal precedent. I am still hopeful that that will happen. But for now, in an ironic twist, it’s unlikely that our Commander-in-Chief, whose self-identified race has certainly raised the volume in discussions of how race is lived in America, will have the opportunity to fill any Supreme slots before the next racially charged Court session begins on April 20th. Over the next two weeks, the Supreme Court will hear cases that cut to the heart of most current discussions and arguments taking place in coffee rooms, living rooms, locker rooms and in chat rooms, including: immigrant rights, affirmative action and predatory lending.
The Supreme Court has an opportunity to reaffirm or reshape the nation’s civil rights laws as it faces a rare confluence of cases over the next two weeks, including a high-profile challenge brought by white firefighters who claim they lost out on promotions because of the “color of their skin.”
The cases also touch on the Voting Rights Act, the need to provide English classes for immigrant children and, more tangentially, discriminatory mortgage lending.
The most emotionally charged case is from the New Haven, Conn., firefighters, whose complaints define the real-life quandary that sometimes accompanies government efforts to ensure racial equality.
The firefighters accuse city officials of violating civil rights laws and the Constitution by throwing out a promotions test on which they performed well but no blacks scored high enough to be eligible. The city responds that relying on test results with such wide racial discrepancies could have violated federal law and left them open to being sued by minorities. Source – Washington Post, High Court Poised To Closely Weigh Civil Rights Laws
Full reliance on standardized tests is a slippery slope. So much of our problem solving talents and skills lie in the must more difficult to measure nuance of our abilities. I still clearly remember when I had my IQ tested. I was about 8 or 9 years old. Following the test I was tracked “gifted” because I answered about 10 questions correctly they included: Who is the author of ‘Winnie the Pooh.’? A series of analogy questions including a reference to “as cup is to saucer…” And the ability to correctly punctuate the following:
it that is is it that is not is not is that not it it is
I am still not convinced that those and other questions had anything to do with intelligence. I grew up in a home awash with books. Books were purchased for me at any time even when we had little money. My books were lined up on shelves and I would retreat to my room and read. I am not sure I would have been somehow less intelligent if I had not had the spines of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ series staring out at me for so many years of my childhood.
But fast forward to now and to standardized testing for adults. Of course a basic knowledge of technical firefighting knowledge is essential. And if the prep materials are standardized and widely available at a not exorbitant cost, I believe evaluators could expect for the outcomes for a fair test to not skew in any particular racial direction. However, if the rules are established that a specific score will result in a specific outcome, a managerial position for example, I believe it is patently unfair to change the rules when you don’t like the complexion of the outcome. Perhaps modification of future tests would be more appropriate. More details:
The lead plaintiff, Frank Ricci, is a veteran firefighter who said in sworn statements that he spent thousands of dollars in preparation and studied for months for the exam. Ricci said he is dyslexic, so he had tapes made of the test materials and listened to them on his commute.
The firefighters’ longtime attorney, Karen Lee Torre, did not allow her clients to talk to reporters — other than for a segment on conservative commentator Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News — but Ricci said in a sworn statement, “I relied in good faith on the promise that effort and not race would determine who would be promoted.”
When the results of the 2003 exams came back, only white firefighters, including one who is Hispanic, scored high enough to be considered for the openings for lieutenants and captains. All 27 black firefighters who took the test were below the cutoff.
After tumultuous public hearings, with minority groups arguing that the tests were flawed and the white firefighters saying officials were caving to political pressure, the city’s Civil Service Board voted not to certify the results. The promotions remain in limbo.
Source – Washington Post High Court Poised To Closely Weigh Civil Rights Laws
I suggest you read the entire ‘Washington Post’ article for yourself. The story of ‘The New Haven 20′ and commentary is riveting.
Still, if recent rulings are any indicators, the Supreme Court is unlikely to provide any definitive judicial answers to these most passionately argued racial issues.
This article originally appeared on Carmen Dixon’s blog All About Race.
