by Greg C. Lawson

Created on: July 03, 2009   Last Updated: July 06, 2009

Did the Supreme Court rule correctly in the New Haven fire fighters case?

I feel that the United State Supreme Court in its 5 to 4 majority opinion, made an error in its ruling simply because it failed to take current discrimination into account when it made its decision. The New Haven Supreme Court understood clearly that a higher test score is not the only criteria for deciding who is the better qualified for a position. We must keep in mind that if Hispanics and Afro-Americans were represented in the positions for which the test was taken, this would be a mute issue. The Hispanics and Afro-Americans did not challenge the test simply because they did not score well, they challenged the test because they did not see anyone in the higher ranks that looked like them.

The New Haven Court understood that if the Hispanics and Afro-Americans filed a lawsuit, the court would be forced to look at the current make up of that department in its ruling, and it might determine that there were no Hispanics or African-Americans in any of those positions. This could suggest a pattern of discrimination. So they threw out the test because they understood clearly that when you give a test where no Hispanics or Afro-Americans score high enough to be considered for promotion, there would be a challenge to that test and open up the department for past discrimination findings. By siding with the white fire fighters, the US Supreme Court over- ruled the lower New Haven court which took these issues into consideration in their ruling. The US Supreme Court should never have taken the case.

I find it quite interesting that most White Americans love to rely on test scores to determine who in our society is the best qualified. Keep in mind that most of the time whites make up the tests, and usually administer the tests. Not too long ago it was found that certain colleges were giving the answers to tests to certain students (excluding students of color). In White America, test scores are used in the same way seniority is used. White unions use seniority as a means of excluding minorities when they say seniority automatically make you the best qualified. I say that seniority only says that you got hired first. Remember there was a time when minorities were not allowed in the union (whites got a head start). I hope this is food for thought from an Afro-Centric perspective.

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