DENVER
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado on Friday distanced himself from comments by fellow Democrat and former Gov. Dick Lamm, who said racial minorities use racism and discrimination as pretexts for academic underachievement.
Lamm, whose new book addresses minority achievement, contends that racism and discrimination have been blamed for underperformance among Hispanics and Blacks, while other minorities have treated discrimination as a hurdle rather than a barrier.
In a speech in Vail, Colo., last week, Lamm said in part: “I’m willing to say there is racism and discrimination, but that is not an excuse for minority underachievement. Blacks and Hispanics do half as much work as Asian students, and they get half as much grades. They have to stop telling people they are not succeeding because they are victims.”
Salazar says Lamm has not returned his calls to discuss the remarks.
“I found the comments very unfortunate,” says Salazar. “I think they are divisive, and they don’t create a way for us to unite our country.”
