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Racial/Ethnic Data Necessary for "Color-Blind" Society

Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 6/3/2003

A California ballot initiative that seeks to write into the state Constitution a ban on racial data collection has sparked alarm within social justice organizations and scientific communities across the nation. Instituted in the aftermath of the termination of California public affirmative action programs, the initiative is based on the premise that eliminating race would better cultivate a "color-blind" society that does not promote social divisions.

At the forefront of the debate on the value of racial/ethnic data research is the American Sociological Association (ASA), whose representatives joined a distinguished group of scientists and practitioners in an effort to explain to the public that governmental efforts to record race are necessary for overcoming major social, political and economic inequalities.

Participants of ASA's panel provided compelling evidence of how racial/ethnic data collection has shed light on disparities existing in law enforcement and healthcare.

  • Gerald R. Sanders, former San Diego Police Chief, stated that data collection on racial profiling was necessary for monitoring discriminatory behavior by law enforcement authorities. He contended that a ban on racial/ethnic data collection would erode the trust of the public--especially minorities--in police agencies.
  • Brian Smedley, Ph.D.--Institute of Medicine/The National Academies--argued that health care statistics on minorities were essential to addressing racial disparities within the health care system. Calling data collection "a form of intervention", he cited studies in which African Americans were less likely to receive the most commonly performed diagnostic procedures compared to Caucasian patients who suffered from the exact same symptoms.

Panelists also discussed how the banning of data collection would undermine the efforts of educators working to overcome the debilitating effects of school segregation and inequality in educational outcomes. Affirmative action admissions policies, such as those adopted by the University of Michigan, that seek to ensure diversity in the classroom as well as remedy past discrimination, would suffer severely if "racial categories" were ignored.

"Schools take all kinds of factors into consideration when making admission decisions--factors that have nothing to do with SAT scores or grades. By not taking race into consideration, it will be primarily children from privileged backgrounds rather than children from disadvantaged backgrounds who will populate our campuses" says Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Executive Director Wade Henderson.

Indeed, the elimination of racial/ethnic data collection could seriously endanger all laws protecting the civil rights of racial minorities.

California residents are scheduled to vote on the initiative in March, 2004.

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