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Condoleezza Rice on Civil Rights
Secretary of State
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Same-sex civil unions, but not marriage
On the AmericansElect.org social issues question, Dr. Rice chose 'B' from the list below, with a relative weighting of 3%:
When you think about the rights of same-sex couples, which of the following is closest to your personal opinion?-
A. Same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry or form any kind of civil union
- B. Same-sex couples should be allowed to form civil unions, but not to marry in the traditional sense
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C. Same-sex couples should be allowed to marry legally, with all the same rights as traditional marriages
Source: AmericansElect email questionnaire with Condi Rice's staff
, Feb 13, 2012
Appointed State Department's first chief diversity officer
I was somewhat taken aback by the racial divide in Brazil. Brazilians had always protested that they had no race problem. Yet it seemed to me that the field hands were Africans (dark-skinned), the service personnel were mulatto (biracial), and the
government officials were European/Portuguese. Brazil was the country most similar to the US in its ethnic makeup, but it seemed to have experienced little of the civil rights revolution that had changed the face of American politics and society.
Latin American leaders were comfortable talking to me about their struggles with racial equality and efforts at affirmative action, perhaps because I was honest with them about America's own struggles. In fact, as I often said, the US State
Department was no model of racial diversity. "I can go all day and not see another person who looked like me." I appointed the department's first chief diversity officer, and championed programs to interest minorities in Foreign Service careers.
Source: No Higher Honor, by Condoleezza Rice, p.659
, Nov 1, 2011
Supports civil unions but not gay marriage
On same-sex marriage she said that while she believes marriage is between a man and a woman, "I don't ever want anybody to be denied rights within our country."
She suggested that civil unions could be a "way for people to express their desire to live together," and said that "the country, if we can keep the volume down, will come to good answers."
Source: David Gibson on Politics Daily on Huffington Post
, Dec 28, 2010
Urges respect & sensitivity in same-sex marriage debate
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged respect and sensitivity in the debate over same-sex marriage. When asked her own views on the subject, however, she ducked the question.“This is an issue that can be debated and can be discussed in our country
with respect for every human being,” Rice told the News & Record of Greensboro, N.C. “When we get into difficult debates about social policy, we get into difficult debates that touch people’s lives. The only thing that I ask is that
Americans do it with a kind of sensitivity that real individuals and real human beings are involved here.“
In a major defeat for President Bush and other Republicans who hope the issue will rally GOP voters for the November elections, the
Senate rejected by a wide margin last week a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Asked for her opinion on the amendment, Rice told the paper, ”This is not my area of expertise or, frankly, my area of concentration at this point.“
Source: Advocate.com GLBT news site
, Jun 16, 2006
Advocates respect for all when discussing gay marriage
Condoleezza Rice urged respect in the debate over gay marriage, but ducked a question about her own views. "This is an issue that can be debated and can be discussed in our country with respect for every human being.
When we get into difficult debates about social policy, we get into difficult debates that touch people's lives, the only thing that I ask is that Americans do it with a kind of sensitivity that real individuals and real human beings are involved here."
Source: Associated Press, "Rice Urges Respect"
, Jun 15, 2006
Message of her candidacy: no ceiling for blacks
Wouldn’t a Condoleezza Rice candidacy change America? The very fact that an African American woman could actually become president would send a powerful message to every minority child that there is no more ceiling, no more limit for black Americans in
elective politics.The stain that began to spread through our land when the first slaves landed at Jamestown, VA, would be erased. Condi’s election would be the last battle of the Civil War, the last civil rights demonstration, the end of a saga that
has haunted us since our nation was born. In a land where the signs once read “No Irish need apply,” wasn’t the election of John F. Kennedy the death knell of anti-Catholic bigotry?
If the civil rights movement of the 1960s was animated by the haunting
lyrics and melody of the song “We Shall Overcome,” electing Rice to the White House would send a very different message: “We have overcome.” And that, apart from Condi’s obvious merits as a possible president, might just be worth voting for.
Source: Condi vs. Hillary, by Dick Morris, p. 20&181
, Oct 11, 2005
Supports college affirmative action, as beneficiary herself
Rice was under pressure to increase the number of tenured female and minority faculty. Rather than bow to the pressures, Rice charted a centrist course. Admitting she was a product of affirmative action,
Rice endorsed using racial and gender preferences in hiring faculty. “I am myself a beneficiary of a Stanford strategy that took affirmative action seriously, that took a risk in taking a young Ph.D. from the University of Denver.”
Yet, as much as she backed affirmative action in hiring faculty, she strongly opposed it in granting tenure. She consistently refused to give into demands that she favor minority and women professors in granting tenure.
Rice has broken with President
Bush to endorse race-based preferences in college admissions. Rice said, “ I believe that while race-neutral means are preferable, it is appropriate to use race as one factor among others in achieving a diverse student body.”
Source: Condi vs. Hillary, by Dick Morris, p.115-118&179
, Oct 11, 2005
Race-neutral preferable, but use race factors until achieved
When the President decided to submit an amicus brief, he asked for my view on how diversity can be best achieved on university campuses. I offered my view, drawing on my experience in academia and as provost of a major university.
I agree with the President’s position, which emphasizes the need for diversity and recognizes the continued legacy of racial prejudice, and the need to fight it.
The President challenged universities to develop ways to diversify their populations fully.
I believe that while race neutral means are preferable, it is appropriate to use race as one factor among others in achieving a diverse student body.
It is important to take race into consideration if you must, if race-neutral means do not work.
Source: White House statement, on www.4condi.com, “Issues”
, Jan 1, 2003
Page last updated: Apr 27, 2013
