“White devil,” “racist bastard,” “idiot,” “entitled brat,” (plain old) “racist.”

 

These are just a few of the colorful names hurled at my friend, Jennifer Gratz, this week after she publicly opposed a bizarre set of racial demands issued by the Black Student Union at the University of Michigan.

 

On Monday, also Martin Luther King Day, the BSU gave U-M officials an ultimatum — meet their seven demands for race-based benefits or face “physical action” on campus. No one was quite sure what exactly their threats entailed, but the University was given a week to meet the demands before things get physical.

 

These demands include more money for racially-segregated clubs, a racial quota system for admissions, special treatment for housing, and scholarships that exclude other ethnicities. Most of them are unconstitutional, all of them wrong.

 

Things turned predictably ugly after Jennifer issued a press release and was later quoted in the Detroit Free Press opposing different treatment for students based on skin color. Apparently, it is racist to believe in equal treatment without regard to race. (You can read Jennifer’s thoughts on the controversy here.)

 

In case you’re interested, on Friday Jennifer will be on the radio with 1470 WFNT Flint at 10:32 a.m. EST (listen here) and WSJ’s Opinion Journal Live at 1:05 p.m. (watch here) to discuss the latest developments in this controversy.

 

This is yet another example of the damage and division that has been wrought by identity politics — government policies and political agendas that slice and dice us into competing racial groups. Too many have forgotten government discrimination and treating people differently based on skin color is bad for us all.

 

The XIV Foundation is committed to reversing this trend. You can help push back against misguided identity politics and defend true equality by supporting us and by joining the conversation on Facebook.

 

- Jennifer Bollenbach, COO