American Civil Liberties Union

Series and Accompanying Web Site Will Educate Listeners on Affirmative Action

DETROIT -- As Michigan counts down to the November 7 vote on whether to end affirmative action in the state, Kimberle Crenshaw, Executive Director of the African American Policy Forum and Professor of Law at University of California Los Angeles and Columbia University and American Civil Liberties Union Ira Glasser Racial Justice Fellow has inaugurated a 13-part radio series on the Michael Eric Dyson Show. In this unprecedented series, entitled "13 Myths About Affirmative Action: A Special Series on a Public Policy Under Seige" Professor Crenshaw and a bevy of guests will join host Michael Eric Dyson to cut through the jargon surrounding this hot-button issue and get beyond the myths associated with it to help to educate voters about affirmative action and Proposition 2.

"Due to the wealth of misinformation on affirmative action, it is vital that public education on this issue reach the broadest possible audience," said Crenshaw. "The Michael Eric Dyson Show is a wonderful opportunity for us to work with Professor Dyson, one of the key voices on American social and racial justice issues."

Proposal 2, also known as the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, would bar the government from using "affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals" based on race, ethnicity or gender.

Listeners can tune in to the series at 10:30 a.m. EST on the Michael Eric Dyson Show every weekday until the election. The show is broadcast in numerous markets and can be heard over the Internet at dysontalk.net.

The ACLU of Michigan has worked tirelessly alongside One United Michigan, the coalition of more than 200 Michigan organizations that oppose Proposition 2. Through door to door canvassing and hundreds of speaking engagements, the ACLU has launched a successful public education campaign. In addition, the ACLU of Michigan has published an eight-page informative college newspaper that was distributed to 90,000 students across Michigan campuses.

The African American Policy Forum is featuring expanded discussion of the myth-of-the-day on its website, and will provide tools and resources for listeners to become "Affirmative Action Mythbusters." Myths addressed include that affirmative action means preferential treatment, that affirmative action is no longer needed, that it is an African American entitlement program among others. Visit www.aapf.org/focus to learn more.

Dyson is a Detroit native, a celebrated professor, an accomplished author and an ordained Baptist minister. The Michael Eric Dyson show is a renowned forum for straight talk on tough issues, billed as a refreshing alternative to the typical, polarizing rhetoric heard on daily talk radio.

Founded in 1996 as a media-monitoring think-tank and information clearinghouse, the African American Policy Forum works to bridge the gap between scholarly research and public discourse related to inequality, discrimination and injustice. The AAPF seeks to build bridges between academic, activist and policy-making sectors in order to advance a more inclusive and robust public discourse on the challenge of achieving equity within and across diverse communities.