, 1966) in their discussion of affirmative action provisions. It is noted that the Small Business Administration, which annually dispenses about 4.3 billion dollars in 6,000 federal contracts, gives about half of these to minority firms while only about one percent are given to disadvantaged white business owners.
The Court's ruling has been cheered by some and decried by others. Most liberal African-American leaders have been particularly vocal in their denunciation of the Court's ruling. For example, in article written for The Chicago Tribune ( ), Clarence Page states that the whole argument against affirmative action is but a way for whites to do nothing to help black people while still maintaining a clear conscience.
However, black conservatives see things differently. For example, Star Parker, a former welfare mother and now President of the conservative Coalition on Urban Affairs, has championed the decision. Like other black conservatives, Star argues that the sentiments voiced by people like Clarence Page are really the continuation of policies and efforts attempting to get black people to rely on the state thereby leading them, "...down a path no future." (In: Gribbin, 1995, p. 20).
Obviously, the views of Star Parker and Clarence Page are in direct conflict. It seems reasonable to ask whether either one truly expresses the views of blacks in general and black men in particular. Regarding the views of black men toward affirmative action, it can be noted that very little research has directly studied this topic; indeed, in this researcher's examination of several business and academic databases (ABI Inform, PsychInfo, Dissertation Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, etc.), very few studies could be found that specifically assessed the attitudes of African-American males toward affirmative action.
In other words, while there are a good many spokespersons telling others what black men think or ought to ...