Arkansas Does Not Need “Affirmative Action Laws” and “Women Do Not Want a Hand-Up”
by Brenda Vassaur Taylor, JD, LLM
March 25, 2023
It comes as no shock that across the country there is outrage from the “usual suspects” against a bill filed by Senator Dan Sullivan (SD20-R) to end affirmative action in Arkansas. It is a good bill and will not only end our 60-year trial of affirmative action for our state actors but will amend some of the “Woke/DEI” legislation currently in our Arkansas code.
For example, this bill not only eliminates the required affirmative action hiring, admissions, contracting guidelines, and reporting by state agencies and public schools, but the current Equity Assistance Center which operates under the Department of Education (whose job it is to monitor “equitable educational opportunities in local school districts and public charter schools”) will be changed to the Equality Assistance Center which will monitor “equal educational opportunities….”
Remember only yesterday Governor Sanders called the hand of the Fayetteville School District and stopped their use of a required teacher survey in the name of equity which was used to call on its teachers to “reject their privilege.”
In case you missed it, there is a lot of difference in “equity” and “equality.” A quick search on the web reveals:
“Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.”
In other words, equity’s goal is socialism where no one should have more than another regardless of merit, effort, birth, etc. And an elite is always needed to be in charge and make the re-distribution. The Biden administration is all over this—just examine your equity web search more closely. History proves that when equity comes from government, it moves us quickly to totalitarianism.
Next week Arkansas has an opportunity to become the tenth state to have no affirmative action laws. “Fair treatment for all” epitomizes one of the key reasons that Arkansans elected an 82% Republican Legislature and its entire slate of GOP Constitutional officers in 2022. And the House has another opportunity to listen to its anti-woke voters through their passage of this bill.
The House should also take note that these conservative voting patterns in Arkansas are likely coming more from women than from men since the last four voting cycles reflect more women voters than men voters. Rest assured, women are against affirmative action and do not want a hand-up.
Now that affirmative action has run its course, Arkansas deserves to get what they want–a return to common sense and for the state to stop spending hard earned tax dollars on the left’s demands to continue the latest ideas for a government fix to “perceived” problems that the government could never solve.
In the words of one of the most renowned economist of our time, who just happens to be black, and no doubt a hero to most Republicans,
“When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.” ― Thomas Sowell
The state is where we stand up for freedom and get back our liberty for all Arkansans. And this SB 71 is a good start.
