PBS Newshour: on Civil Rights

Deval Patrick: Crafted “mend it, don’t end it” for affirmative action

A: As in any program with good intentions, particular means of using affirmative action principles are subverted, and are not functioning very well. And so we ended [such] programs. But we do believe that affirmative action can be done a right way; that on the whole it has been done the right way.

Q: You said that you think it’s still necessary. I assume that’s because we don’t have a colorblind society.

A: I think it is a complete ruse to suggest that declaring ourselves colorblind in law is going to cause us to be colorblind in fact. I think that there will come a day as long as we remind ourselves of fundamental American values, of equality, opportunity and fair play, when we will set aside the kind of negative attention that the differences in this country sometimes--sometimes bring. But we are not there yet.