Home Press Center CEO Experts Will Comment on Supreme Court Affirmative Action Cases

CEO Experts Will Comment on Supreme Court Affirmative Action Cases

Tuesday, 17 June 2003

Contact: David Gersten (703)421-5443  (Sterling, Virginia)  Conservative civil-rights experts from the Center for Equal Opportunity will be available to speak to the media both before and after the Supreme Court announces its decision regarding the University of Michigan affirmative action cases. CEO president and former director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Linda Chavez, will offer interviews to print and radio media.  CEO general counsel and co-author of CEO’s amicus brief in the cases, Roger Clegg, will be available for print and radio interviews.   Edward Blum, a CEO senior fellow, will be on location at the Court and available for television and print interviews.  David Gersten, CEO’s executive director, will also be available for both broadcast and print interviews.  CONTACT: Chavez, (703)715-2233 or (443) 206-3167, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   Chavez writes a weekly syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country, and is a political analyst for FOX News Channel.  She is one of the nation's leading opponents of affirmative action and can discuss the history and problems of racial preferences as well as expected reaction to the ruling.  Chavez authored Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation (Basic Books 1991).  In January 2001, Chavez was President George W. Bush’s nominee for Secretary of Labor until she withdrew her name from consideration. CONTACT: Clegg, (703) 421-5443, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Clegg is one of the nation’s leading experts on legal issues arising from civil rights laws--including the problems in higher education created by affirmative action.  Having worked closely with litigators and the Bush administration before the case, Clegg can talk about the arguments used by both sides and how the ruling will change college admissions.  A former Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Reagan and Bush administrations, Clegg held the second highest position in the Civil Rights Division (1987-91). CONTACT: Blum, (703) 327-4533 or (703) 505-1922, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   Blum’s areas of expertise include civil rights policy analysis. He is able to describe the difficulties in winning a Supreme Court case, how proponents of affirmative action are likely to respond, and why this ruling will affect more than just colleges.  Prior to joining CEO, he was the director of legal affairs at the Sacramento-based American Civil Rights Institute, and chairman of the Houston-based Campaign for a Color-Blind America, Legal Defense and Educational Foundation. In those capacities, he facilitated the legal challenge to race-based school admissions policies throughout the country. CONTACT: Gersten, (703) 421-5443 or (703) 431-1353, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Gersten has been a leading activist in the campaign to remove race as a factor in admissions and can talk about the practical implications of the decision and the likely response of universities, college students, and the Bush administration.  He has spoken on college campuses throughout the country and has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs to discuss equal opportunity policies.