(U-WIRE) BERKELEY, Calif. — Thirty-four California legislators are calling for the University of California-Berkeley Board of Regents to censure Regent Ward Connerly for remarks he made about segregation.
In an interview with CNN about the controversial comments former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., made about segregation, Connerly said, “Supporting segregation need not be racist. One can believe in segregation and believe in equality of the races.”
Despite public outcry for a formal apology, Connerly called the storm of criticism an attack from opponents of policies he supports. “This whole issue is being driven by a handful of people who oppose Proposition 209, who oppose the [Racial] Privacy Initiative and who are searching for some issue to make it appear that my views are not in the mainstream,” he said.
In his nine-year tenure as a regent, Connerly has been outspoken on issues relating to race and higher education.
He was a leading supporter of Proposition 209, which in 1996 banned affirmative action in California’s public institutions.
Connerly has long pushed for the Racial Privacy Initiative, which would ban public institutions from collecting data about race.
The initiative is expected to appear on the 2004 ballot.
In the Dec. 17, 2002, letter to the regents, California legislators described Connerly’s language as “a stunning ignorance of the history of segregation and racism.”
“Mr. Connerly’s statement is an untenable position for a man who is responsible for overseeing the education of a diverse student body — many of whom come from families who know firsthand the pain of segregation and racism,” the letter stated.
The UC Students’ Association, a UC-wide student coalition, also urged Connerly to rescind his earlier comments.
When the association’s leaders demanded an apology from Connerly, he responded, “I’m not apologizing; tell them to go to hell.”
“I think his comments about segregation are ridiculous,” said Mo Kashmiri, UC-Berkeley Graduate Assembly external affairs vice president. “The whole situation is outrageous — and not just his comments, but [also] his childish response.”
Connerly, however, defended his statements, arguing that supporting segregation does not make a person a racist, although he said he adamantly opposes it.
“Segregation is morally wrong; it is unconstitutional,” Connerly said. “It is not something that I would personally subscribe to. It confines your life. It closes off your perspective. I abhor segregation.”
On the December television show, Connerly urged Lott to step down from his leadership position in the U.S. Senate.
But Connerly resisted labeling the senator’s comments as racist.
“Calling someone a racist is probably one of the most serious indictments you can make about someone,” he said. “It is too easily invoked. That label sticks with someone for the rest of their lives.”
Meanwhile, Connerly stands firm by his words.
“I’m not apologizing to these people. My comments were made as a private citizen,” he said. “These are bullies who are trying to tell other people what to think and what to say. This is ridiculous.”
