Proponents of Proposition 54, also known as the Racial Privacy
Initiative, may face an uphill battle after the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the mayor of
Los Angeles joined a growing list of officials and educators in
opposition to its passage.
The proposition, which will appear on the Oct. 7 statewide
ballot, would prohibit state agencies from classifying individuals
by race, ethnicity, color or national origin. It is sponsored and
co-written by University of California Regent Ward Connerly.
Dr. Geraldine Washington, the President of NAACP Los Angeles,
was clear in her condemnation of the initiative.
“This is just another effort by Connerly and his
associates to deny affirmative action across the board,”
Washington said.
On Aug. 12, Mayor Hahn officially declared his opposition to
Proposition 54, saying it was “important that we send a clear
message to the voters that Proposition 54 will hurt our
state.”
Many educators have also come out against the initiative. The UC
Board of Regents voted overwhelmingly against Proposition 54 during
their meeting in May.
David Birnbaum, a University Counsel, said one reason for the
regents’ opposition is the concern that valuable information,
such as research data and admission information, would be lost if
the initiative were to pass.
“Prop. 54 is not intended to affect research by individual
faculty members, but it is not certain. The faculty at the UCs are
worried about research,” Birnbaum said.
This concern led to an internal memorandum passed among the
regents board in May that highlighted the ways in which the UC
would be affected by the initiative.
Among other things, the memorandum said the collection of data
from applicants and admitted students would have to stop if
Proposition 54 passes.
This ban on the collection of applicants and admissions data
would have a tremendously negative impact on state-funded
universities, according to Cecil Canton, Chair of the Affirmative
Action Committee at California State University, Sacramento.
“This is bad public policy that will only limit the
options of the same groups that were already limited in the
past,” Canton said.
He added that the ways in which people identify themselves are
extremely important to research, and will be lost if Proposition 54
were to go forward.
Dr. Richard Brown, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy
Research, also said Proposition 54 would be a “major
blow” towards research at the UC and that finding funding for
his center might be more difficult if the initiative passes.
“If we cannot do the kind of research that we do at the
center, mainly studies in racial and ethnic disparities in health,
a number of agencies funding our work would simply not be
interested,” Brown stated.
Such an outcome would seriously compromise the scientific
integrity at the center, he added.
Proponents of Proposition 54 say research programs should not be
heavily impacted because the initiative grants exceptions to
medical research and federally-sponsored research programs, among
others.
However, Brown was not convinced.
“This proposition will create a blindfolded society,
instead of a color blind one,” Brown said.
Diane Schachterle, a spokeswoman the for American Civil Rights
Coalition, which is sponsoring the proposition, said this
initiative would end the racial classification system so prevalent
in the state.
“This is a very measured step to get the government to
move away from race consciousness and treat all citizens as
equals,” Schachterle said.
She also emphasized the importance of California in being a
progressive example for the rest of the nation.
“California is often the first. It is a very diverse
state, and we move more and more towards a California whose
citizens do not fit into any one box,” she added.
The fact that the initiative could be imitated in other states
worries many of the critics, and as the date of the October
election draws near, they are stepping up their attacks.
“Prop. 54 is an initiative that mainly deals in
uncertainty,” Birnbaum said. “And uncertainty causes
people concern.”