U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. from the 14th District of Michigan, will talk about the constitutional challenges to the University of Michigan's admission policies at 5 p.m. April 7 in Thwing Ballroom at Case Western Reserve University.

In his talk, "A Call to Action for Affirmative Action," he also will discuss.using affirmative action in higher education as a vehicle to break down the barriers of segregation found in the wider society.

Conyers, a champion of civil rights for more than 40 years, is the guest speaker for the 2003 Louis Stokes Leadership Symposium on Social Issues and the Community. The symposium is an annual event sponsored by the CWRU Office of the President.

Responding to Conyers remarks will be Emery Lee, CWRU assistant professor of political science, who clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that heard the case. One other individual, the identity of whom is to be announced, also will respond.

As the country becomes more diverse, what disturbs Conyers is that "Americans of different racial and ethnic groups live largely separate lives," he wrote in an editorial for the Michigan Citizen on March 3.

By the year 2030, members of minority groups are projected to comprise 40 percent of the U.S. population.

He continues to write that "a diverse student body in higher education can significantly affect the extent to which graduates move on to live racially and ethnically integrated lives—in effect, students educated in diverse settings are better equipped to thrive in a diverse society."

Conyers will talk about how actions around the country are "chipping away" at affirmative action in higher education—grounds gained in the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld affirmative action in the landmark Bakke case. Recently a U.S. District Court struck down affirmative action at the University of Michigan's law school, saying an affirmative action policy for a diverse student body was not a compelling interest. Where affirmative action efforts were eroded in Texas and California, segregation has reappeared.

"The reality is that our diversity is our strength not our weakness," Conyers said.

The Michigan congressman, one of the founders of the Congressional Black Caucus, is the second most senior member of the House of Representatives and is the Democratic leader on the House Judiciary Committee.

A reception follows the symposium. For information, go to http://www.cwru.edu/events/stokes/index.html or call 216-368-6878.