Spring Break
Lani Guinier visits UMKC
Louis Trigg
Issue date: 10/27/08 Section: News
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As one of the leading American civil rights scholars in the United States, she was a member of social movements long before serving as special assistant to the assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division under the Carter Administration.
She frequently lectures as a guest speaker at Yale, Stanford, New York University and UCLA, among other schools.
During her visit to UMKC on Wednesday, she delivered the Rosa Parks Lecture on Social Justice and Activism to a group of students and local activists.
Guinier argued that, throughout the years, the passiveness created by television, strong nepotism in the American meritocracy and emphasis on standardized tests in education have resulted in capability for "quick strategic guessing with less than perfect information" by American leaders, instead of in-depth ability for critical thinking and problem-solving.
Understandably, she supports the current spirit of change, but does not believe one person can change the world alone.
"Rosa Parks was fearless, but so were so many others who participated in the Montgomery bus boycott," she said.
Instead, her prescription to change revolves around the idea that one person's symbolism can solidify enough concern and emotion within a constituency to inspire action for change.
The speech was the last part of a lecture series promoted by the Division of Diversity, Access and Equity. The series set to incite discussion about race, class, gender and sexual orientation.
Being actively aware and curious are underlying mechanisms she prescribes for diversity saying we need eclectic and eccentric mindsets to re-establish America's stature as a nation of fresh ideas. Respectively, Guinier disagrees with the widespread practice of "only talking to people who think of the world exactly the way we do."
If America is to regain its cohesion and direction, citizens must stand on common ground and mobilize passion and purpose, which Guinier said was lost somewhere between the 1960s and the 1980s.
As a result of her own social contribution, she received the Champion of Democracy Award from the National Women's Political Caucus and the Rosa Parks Award from the American Association of Affirmative Action.
She has also published six books and holds 10 honorary degrees.
At the end of her lecture, Guinier's activist views were reinforced when she gave her opinion on the current state of the judiciary.
When asked for her thoughts about the Supreme Court and potential nominees to fill the next justice vacancy, she endorsed former presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Essentially, she believes the Court is currently made up of conservative Republicans and moderate Republicans, who could benefit from the insight and balance of liberal philosophy.
She said accountability and activism hold "fundamental solutions to some idiosyncrasies within the meritocracy of America".
ltrigg@unews.com
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