|
Bush Administration Blocks Dissenting Voice from Conference Barred Speaker Ties Conservative Think Tanks With Roll-Back of Affirmative Action Tuesday, August 21, 2001. U.S. Labor Department officials pressured a nongovernmental group of human resources professionals to cancel a speaking invitation to Alfred F. Ross, President of the Institute for Democracy Studies, who would have linked conservative think tanks and organizations with an effort to gut affirmative action, according to a story in today's New York Times. Bush administration officials who opposed Ross' appearance before the National Industry Liaison Group's (NILG) annual conference have had ties to the Heritage Foundation, one of the groups Ross was prepared to discuss. NILG had invited Ross to give the conference's keynote address. His speech, "The Assault on Affirmative Action," was scheduled for August 20th in Baltimore. After learning of the cancellation of his address, Ross wrote to the NILG board, asking that the group "reverse the decision of the convention planning committee to accede to the demands of Charles James and possibly other officials." Charles James, the newly appointed head of the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, called the NILG's conference co-chair to object to Ross' presentation and summoned the co-chair to Washington for a meeting. Within 48 hours of the call, Ross' invitation was revoked. Ted Shaw, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and an advocate for affirmative action, said that barring a speaker like Ross "has a chilling effect on free speech and prevents the human resources professionals at the NILG conference from hearing a significant voice on the challenges to affirmative action." Charles James is married to Kay Coles James, the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, who before joining the Bush administration, was a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former Dean at Pat Robertson's School of Government. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Charles James's boss, was a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation before she joined President Bush's Cabinet. The New York-based Institute for Democracy Studies monitors conservative think tanks and organizations. Its publication "The Assault on Diversity" discusses the role of conservative groups in challenging racial and gender remedies in the United States. "Behind the conservative movement's carefully crafted public images creating illusions of diversity lies a combination of well-organized, well-funded anti-affirmative action organizations -- such as the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society -- that believe their time has come," said Ross. "These organizations shape the thoughts of key administration decision makers," he added. The NILG members are responsible for filing corporate employers' reports of compliance with federal employment laws, which are audited by Charles James' office. Thus, NILG members are highly vulnerable to pressure from the administration. "These tactics, designed to muzzle legitimate debate, cannot be tolerated in a democracy," said Ross. For more information, or to speak with Alfred Ross, please contact John Tessitore, IDS Communications Director, at 212 423-9237. |