WASHINGTON—Linda Chavez found it offensive to get preferential treatment for being Hispanic and has made it her life’s work to end policies that discriminate in favor of racial and ethnic minorities.
The former head of the Civil Rights Commission under President Reagan is now president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank she founded in 1995.
“Holding blacks and Latinos to the same standards as others is healthier than giving them a permanent crutch,” said Ms. Chavez, who lives in Purcellville, Va.
Besides the center, which produces studies attacking bilingual education and college entrance requirements that favor minorities, she writes a nationally syndicated weekly column to promote her ideas.
Her revelation dates back to the early ’70s when she was a “conservative” Democrat. The party offended her when leaders recruited delegates to the 1972 convention who mirrored the racial and ethnic diversity of the country, regardless of their other qualifications, she said.
“That, to me, was wrong,” said Ms. Chavez.
A couple years after the convention, she interviewed at a prestigious foundation for a grant to continue her education in English literature.
“They were patronizing beyond belief,” Ms. Chavez said. One person complimented her on her ability to speak English and another tried to conduct the interview in Spanish, which she does not speak well.
Ms. Chavez did not get the grant and began to think a program that singled her out because of ethnicity rather than merit and financial need actually worked against her.
“I’ve seen over and over a liberal racism, where the presumption is that someone from my background, won’t do as well as them,” Ms. Chavez said.
Her family settled in what is now New Mexico in the 1600s, she said. Her grandparents spoke Spanish when she was growing up, but her mother is of Irish descent, and English was Ms. Chavez’ first language.
As early as her senior year in college, she was at odds with other students who demanded separate departments for blacks and Hispanics.
She can still rile ’em up on campus. In August, she cut short a speech at the University of New Mexico in her hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., when protesters held up signs calling her a “vendida,” or sellout.
Her center is producing a series of studies showing racial preferences in the admissions policies of state universities. So far, it has analyzed Michigan, North Carolina, Colorado, schools in California and the military service academies.
Speaking against preferences for minorities on campus can make her uncomfortable, she admitted.
“When you’re face-to-face, it’s hard to say I don’t think you should be here. But the victim mentality is not going to help them,” Ms. Chavez said.
Ms. Chavez is also on a campaign to stamp out bilingual education programs across the country because she claims they segregate mostly Hispanic students and slow down their progress in learning English.
“What I’m opposed to are programs that for ideological reasons promote Spanish all day long,” Ms. Chavez said. “It’s nonsense.”
That drew a sharp retort from Jim Lyons, executive director of the National Association for Bilingual Education, who advocates that children be instructed in their native language and learn how to read in their native language before learning to read English.
“Her opinion runs counter to the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and expert opinion about how English is best learned,” Lyons said.
Don Soifer, vice president of Lexington Institute, a conservative think tank in Arlington, gave Ms. Chavez and her center credit for a large role in a California referendum that passed in June to eliminate bilingual education.
“One of the reasons we’ve seen the tide turning is the strong leadership that Hispanic leaders have brought to this issue,” Soifer said. “Mobilizing that leadership is something she’s been a part of.”
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