Black Scholars Speak Out
Against Immigration Reform
Coalition’s stance at odds with those of traditional civil rights groups.
By Ibram Rogers
WASHINGTON
A new coalition featuring several Black scholars has joined the immigration debate, arguing that pro-immigration reforms would have a grave impact on Black America.
The coalition, called Choose Black America, promotes a view that is very different from the more sympathetic stance of the NAACP, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other Black leaders.
In its inaugural press conference held late last month in Washington, D.C., coalition members sharply denounced federal legislation that would create a pathway to U.S. citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants.
Their chief complaint: Massive illegal immigration has economically crippled Black America, resulting in lost jobs, lower wages and fewer social services.
“Immigration policy can influence and change the fundamental character of America, and it could greatly impact those who are the most vulnerable among us,” says Dr. Frank Morris Sr., the coalition’s chairman and a former dean at the University of Maryland and Morgan State University. “Many of the most vulnerable continue to be disproportionately African-American.”
