Herman, why are you for affirmative action?

Former Godfather's Pizza President Herman Cain, one of the nation's most successful black businessmen, says affirmative action should be continued but its focus should be changed from race-based hiring to economic need.

By emphasizing the economic need of applicants, "then color doesn't become such a divisive issue," Cain said in an interview in Lincoln Monday.

The goal of affirmative action to help the underprivileged would still be achieved because some minorities are poor, so they would still qualify for help in getting into schools or securing government contracts, he said.

Cain: Focus on economics, not race, when hiring Lincoln Journal Star - June 3, 1997 Tuesday