On October 27, Jesse Jackson will call a march in Sacramento, Calif., to rally forces in defense of affirmative action. This march will take place at a time when the Supreme Court is deciding whether or not to rule on the constitutionality of Proposition 209 in California.

In addition, University of California-Berkeley students are organizing during the month of October to force the UC regents to rescind their decision of eliminating affirmative action from undergraduate admissions at Berkeley.

Despite the demagogy of the opponents of affirmative action, the elimination of these programs will result in a resegregation of higher education. The elimination of affirmative action in graduate admissions in the UC system and in all admissions at the University of Texas has led to a dramatic drop in the numbers of black and Latino students in this year’s incoming classes.

The anti-affirmative action forces — the wealthy, powerful right wing politicians and corporations — have a two-pronged strategy.

They intend to flood courts all over the country with suits against affirmative action, and they have introduced anti-affirmative action legislation similar to Proposition 209 in more than 20 states.

They want to win swift and widespread legal and political victories; they know the longer the attacks on affirmative action are drawn out, the more likely it will be that the overwhelming majority, who are opposed to racist and sexist inequality and segregation, will organize to defeat these attacks.

Affirmative action is under attack nationally, and we must build a national movement to defend it and to fight for real equality and democracy.

We call on you — all student organizations, high school organizations, community colleges, state universities, unions, black, Latino and other minority organizations, anti-racist groups and activists, women’s rights groups, lesbian/gay organizations and all others who are for the defense of affirmative action — to organize marches and demonstrations as part of a national day of action.

Jessica Curtin

Senior

University of Michigan

Member of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary (BAMN)