Posted on 05/31/2009 6:23:22 PM PDT by neverdem
The case of Ricci v. DeStefano could provide an opportunity to move our country in the direction of the genuinely color-blind society - a goal long sought by men and women of good will.
President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, sits on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where she heard the arguments for Ricci v. DeStefano, now pending before the High Court.
The case has been brought by white firefighters in New Haven who were denied promotions after an examination yielded no black firefighters eligible for advancement. The city decided to throw out the test, calling its action "racially neutral."
In Ricci v. DeStefano, 19 white firefighters and one Hispanic say they should have been promoted based on their successful scores. The city argued that certifying the tests would have left it vulnerable to lawsuits for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if the white firemen were promoted.
Judge Sontomayor voted to uphold the rejection of the white firemen.
"Racial classifications are inherently pernicious and, if not checked, lead as they did in New Haven to regrettable and socially destructive racial politics," said Gregory S. Coleman, who represents the group of 20 firefighters. "Neither equal protection nor Title VII justified New Haven's race-based scuttling of the promotions petitioners earned through the civil service process mandated by Connecticut law."
Frank Ricci was one of more than 130 firefighters who took written and oral tests in 2003 to fill a few promotion slots. An oral component accounted for 40 percent of the score, while the written component, designed at a tenth-grade reading level, accounted for 60 percent of the test.
Ricci's personal story cannot be separated from the case. He prepared for the 2003 exams by quitting his second job; buying more than $l,000 worth of books the city recommended; paying to have them...
(Excerpt) Read more at aim.org ...
The timing might be sweet, with a Ricci decision coming just weeks or days before the confirmation hearings.
In a truly color blind society, there is NO WAY Obama would be president — the man lacks any and all qualifications for the job. But a lot of guilt-ridden white people wanted to feel good about themselves, so they voted for the negro.
Odumbo has insured that a color blind society will never happen in this country.
Color isn’t the issue, culture is.
Only going to happen when racists of ALL colors stand down -- and there are a lot who aren't.
merit and/or lack thereof is at the root of every single domestic issue in the news today that is taking our country down.....
Color blind is out for at least the next 4-8 years. Nice though though...
When there is NO Black Caucus in Congress, I might believe in something toward “color-blind”. But, alas, outside congress, we have NAACP, La Raza, CAIR, and all manners of racially based organizations.
Racisim is one of the Lefts best tools. I doubt they will let go of it anytime soon no matter how loud they shout.
A persons color doesn’t threaten me, but his lifestyle can. We can’t have a viable society without some boundaries for behavior.
HAHAHAHA....the Democrats will NEVER allow this.....they need their PLANTATION members
It's danger close. Maloney v. Cuomo might be Souter's last case on 26 June 2009. I'm afraid it will get ugly.
No white males need apply. No white males & dogs allowed.
“Color blind is out for at least the next 4-8 years. Nice though though...”
Never gave it much thought until the zero voters made it an issue again.
“some boundaries for behavior”
even THAT boils down to merit or lack thereof, doesn’t it?
JUDGE SOTOMAYOR: Counsel … we’re not suggesting that unqualified people be hired. The city’s not suggesting that. All right? But there is a difference between where you score on the test and how many openings you have. And to the extent that there’s an adverse impact on one group over the other, so that the first seven who are going to be hired only because of the vagrancies [sic] of the vacancies at that moment, not because you’re unqualified–the pass rate is the pass rate–all right? But if your test is always going to put a certain group at the bottom of the pass rate so they’re never ever going to be promoted, and there is a fair test that could be devised that measures knowledge in a more substantive way, then why shouldn’t the city have an opportunity to try and look and see if it can develop that?
KAREN LEE TORRE: Because they already developed it, your honor.
JUDGE SOTOMAYOR: It assumes the answer. It assumes the answer which is that, um, the test is valid because we say it’s valid.
KAREN LEE TORRE: The testing consultant said it was valid. He told them it was valid…. They had evidence that the test was job-related and valid for use under Title VII.
Actually you’re right on... Color blindness may be a thing of the past - not sure is was anyway (whites always got the short end of the stick). I do hope that because he is President that they will calm their effort for monority advancement. Not hopeful though... It will probably be worse!
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