We know, for example, that Lott has appeared at two Mississippi rallies to raise funds for an all-white private school that was created in Carroll County, Mississippi, to enable white children to escape desegregation.
• We know that in 1984 Trent Lott lobbied the Reagan administration to restore tax exemptions to racially segregated private schools.
• We know, too, that when Ole Miss refused in 1962 to obey a Fifth Circuit Court order requiring the university to admit James Meredith, a black man, Trent Lott said that the federal government "had no business sending in troops to tell the state
what to do."
..
The Washington Post reported that when Lott addressed the Council of
Conservative Citizens, he endorsed the group as a "needed" organization "to help protect our flag, Constitution, and other symbols of freedom" from the "dark forces."
...
In 1989 Lott voted to eliminate federal funding for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission.
• In 1990 Lott voted against the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1990.
• In 1990 Lott supported a proposal that would prohibit a defendant in death penalty cases from using statistical evidence which could show that race was an overriding factor in a jury's decision.
• In 1991 Lott opposed the motor/voter legislation which would have simplified voter registration for poor blacks in Mississippi and other states.
• In 1991 Lott supported an amendment by North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms that called for prohibiting private employers from using affirmative action procedures for recruiting black workers.
• In 1992 Lott voted against extending provisions in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 until 2007.
• In 1994 Lott voted against the confirmation of the highly esteemed black scholar William Gould as a member of the National Labor Relations Board.
• In 1995 Lott voted to eliminate funding for the Smithsonian's National African-American Museum.
• In 1998 Lott voted to eliminate a set-aside program for minority-owned businesses on federal construction projects.
Monday, December 16, 2002
Oh God, that BET interview was hilarious. Who knew that Lott was such a tireless crusader for affirmative action? These people at the JBHE must just be making this stuff up!