Powell Says Affirmative Action Lowers Barriers
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WASHINGTON — Retired Gen. Colin L. Powell expressed his support for affirmative action programs Monday, saying they help reduce racial barriers to equal opportunity.
Powell, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in remarks to the annual National Council of Negro Women conference that such programs are far better than what went before.
“We have seen what the preference system that had been in place for 250 years has done to us,” he said.
Powell, a Republican, has differed often with the more conservative members in his party over the need for affirmative action programs.
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