Georgia's racial-quotas are under attack in Atlanta, Fulton County, and at the University of Georgia. Adversity.Net Special Collection. |
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Georgia's racial-quotas are under attack in Atlanta, Fulton County, and at the University of Georgia. Adversity.Net Special Collection. |
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INTRODUCTION:
Concerted Attacks on Georgia's Racial Quotas Similar Issues, Different Topics Behind 3 Affirmative Action Cases (10/25/99) (Excerpted from the story by Jonathan Ringel of The Fulton County Daily Report) "Respectively, cases against the University of Georgia, the Fulton County government and the Atlanta city government feature new states' rights arguments, lawyer disqualification motions and, according to one plaintiff's attorney, the time-honored tactic of delay. "In all three cases, white plaintiffs claim that policies designed to increase blacks' admissions to college, or minority access to government contracting dollars, violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. "The case against the University of Georgia also hinges on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids federally funded schools from discriminating against students because of race. "THE ATLANTA SUIT: Attorney Parks is fighting on two fronts. He also represents white plaintiffs challenging the city of Atlanta's affirmative action program. "In this case, he accuses the city of trying to stall until the program expires in 2001. "Indeed, Atlanta's Equal Business Opportunity program states that all prime contractors, "whether majority, minority or female, must meet the requirement of an EBO plan that satisfies the project's EBO goals." Lee General Contractors v. Atlanta, No. 1:99-cv-2194-WBH (N.D.Ga. filed Oct. 15, 1999). "Parks says one program goal requires that all contractors who do more than $10 million in business to seek minority subcontractors, thereby forcing black and white companies to discriminate against white subcontractors. "Two wrongs don't make a right," says Parks. "THE FULTON SUIT: While the Georgia and Atlanta cases were filed this year and are barely out of the starting gate, a 1996 case against Fulton County now stands before U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "Thrash ruled in June that the county's affirmative action program, with its 20 percent minority-participation goal, violates the Equal Protection Clause. "In the case, Webster Green Thumb Co. claims the county and Cooper violated the Equal Protection Clause by, among other things, awarding a tree-cutting project to a black-owned company whose bid was 50 percent higher than Webster's. (Excerpted from the article by Jonathan Ringel of
the Fulton County Daily Report 10/25/99, as posted by the Law News Network.) (Fulton County, Georgia) Fulton County attorney's had argued that a lower court's permanent ban on racial, ethnic, or gender-based quotas was flawed. The U.S. Supreme Court turned down Fulton County's argument without comment. AP reported: "The 1994 version of the program set annual goals [quotas] for awarding county contracts to businesses owned by blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans and women. "The Webster Green Thumb Co., a landscaping and tree removal service, challenged the program in federal court, saying it discriminated by favoring minorities and women. "After a trial in 1999, a federal judge in Atlanta issued a permanent order banning Fulton County from using racial, ethnic or gender goals [quotas] in accepting or rejecting contract bids. "The judge said there was no evidence that the county had significantly discriminated against minority-owned businesses during the 1980s or 1990s. The judge also said the county had not shown enough evidence of discrimination against female-owned businesses to justify a program to aid them." An appeal by Fulton County to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals arguing in favor of continued racial and gender preferences was turned down by the appeals court. In July 2000 the appelate court upheld the ruling against Fulton County's quota program. (Based on the AP story by Laurie Asseo as published by FoxNews) [Last known link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/wires/0326/p_ap_0326_36.sml ] <==Click the Menu Choices at the left to browse our collection of "Georgia Racial Quotas" case studies. |