Affirmative-action
foe is targeting racial data in California Affirmative-action
foe is targeting racial data in California
By V. Dion Haynes Chicago Tribune
December 26, 2001
LOS ANGELES -- Saying the nation is ready to move past labeling people by their color or origin, supporters of a proposed ballot initiative are seeking to stop governments in California from collecting racial data and classifying people into racial categories.
Ward Connerly, a University of California regent who led the 1996 campaign that dismantled California's race- and gender-preference programs and inspired a similar movement in Washington state, has started a petition drive for the Racial Privacy Initiative. The proposal would not hit the state ballot until November 2002, if Connerly succeeds in acquiring 700,000 valid signatures.
But opponents are lining up, fearing Connerly's initiative has the potential to disrupt long-standing civil-rights efforts, as his 1996 campaign did, and leave them with few tools to monitor disparities. "My worry is that when you stop collecting the data, it becomes possible to sweep certain issues under the rug," said Hugh Price, president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, who is watching the initiative closely.
"Without data, it would be difficult to keep track of how minority children are doing academically, to keep track of discrimination in employment, criminal justice and many other areas." The proposal would prohibit state and local governments from classifying people by race and collecting racial data on them.
Exempted from the proposal would be police departments, which need to describe suspects by race; hospitals, which would be allowed to use the data to conduct medical research; and programs that collect racial numbers for the federal government. The Legislature would be able to approve other exemptions with a two-thirds vote.
In light of the unity sweeping the nation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the proposal, to some, comes at a time efforts to divide people racially seem inappropriate. The proposal also is striking a chord with the growing biracial community in California, which increasingly is dismissing traditional definitions of race and resisting government attempts to categorize them.
"We don't ask people what religion they are, what their party affiliation is or what their sexual orientation is. So why is it critical to ask about race?" Connerly said. "The issue of race is giving way to a new sense of nationalism," added Connerly, who is African American. "People are more interested in what we have in common." In 1997, Connerly championed Initiative 200 in Washington state, providing the financial backing to hire signature gatherers and send thousands of mailers when the measure was in trouble.
The measure, which eliminated state preference for women and minorities in education, hiring and contracting, was approved by voters in 1998. The Racial Privacy Initiative has reopened a debate that started with 1996's Proposition 209, the anti-affirmative-action measure, over racial inequities. Asserting that affirmative action discriminates against white men, Connerly successfully fought to dismantle preferences in contracting, employment and university admissions.
Civil-rights groups said the programs, though imperfect, were needed to correct institutionalized discrimination and to ensure minorities were given opportunities. In fact, minority enrollment at the University of California's most prestigious campuses plummeted after preference programs were dropped. California has 1.6 million residents claiming two or more ethnicities, according to the 2000 Census, making it the most diverse mainland state.
With the increase of interracial marriages and births of biracial children, some argue, the notion of race is becoming less relevant. Moreover, they add, race is a social construct created to justify slavery. Continuing to use the racial labels, they assert, is racist. "It's clear when you read (Martin Luther) King that he was saying we need to move to a higher place, where people see the content of our character and not the color of our skin," said Joe Hicks, a civil-rights advocate who is executive director of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, a conservative think tank in Los Angeles. "Science refutes the notion of race," added Hicks, an African American.
"Ward's ballot measure will help us reach beyond the genetics of people." The initiative is drawing dissent, even among Republicans who supported Proposition 209. The California Republican Party, which is trying to repair the damage to its relationship with minorities caused by backing Proposition 209, has declined to endorse the Racial Privacy Initiative. "Prominent leaders in the Republican Party have opposed Mr. Connerly's new initiative," said Rob Stutzman, spokesman for the California Republican Party.
"It is not consistent with the priorities the party has in California." Meanwhile, researchers and civil-rights activists say the loss of government data would be devastating. Initiative supporters say the collection of racial data should be done by researchers, not the government. But researchers counter that the most reliable statistics come from the government. The initiative, they say, would hamper their ability to monitor discrimination and design programs aimed at rectifying inequities.
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