Effects of Prop. 54 last longer than governors

California has turned into a zoo.

With Gov. Gray Davis up for recall on Oct. 7, there have been a
record number of candidates vying for the most powerful office in
California. All this hoopla over who will be the next California
governor, though, has taken attention away from a more pressing
matter with potentially more severe and longer-lasting effects than
results from one governor’s term in office. I am talking
about CRECNO, Classification of Race, Ethnicity, Color, and
National Origin, or Proposition 54, its official name on the Oct. 7
ballot.

This dangerous bill is the brainchild of our very own UC Regent
Ward Connerly, who also was behind the ban on affirmative action in
California. CRECNO will rid the state of its ability to collect
data based on race, color, ethnicity and national origin.

Some trumpet this bill as the key to a color-blind society, but
it will just make our society blind to the disparities that exist
in health care, law enforcement, housing and education.

For healthcare, racial statistics provide us with information
about diseases that are prevalent in different communities. Without
these facts we would not know Vietnamese women have the highest
rate of cervical cancer or that white women have the highest
incidence of breast cancer. These racial statistics can help health
agencies reach out to these target communities and make them aware
of the risks they face while developing relevant materials such as
language-translated materials. Why would we want to get rid of
information that could save people’s lives?

If Proposition 54 passes, it could also limit our ability to
keep government agencies accountable for racial profiling and
diversity in education and the workplace. While we’d like to
believe we are a progressive society that looks beyond race and
color lines, racism and discrimination are problems that we still
deal with today. Getting rid of the state’s ability to
collect statistics will rid our ability to officially track hate
crimes and discrimination.

Within Proposition 54, there are very narrowly defined
exemptions for law enforcement, housing and health. Due to the
nature of Proposition 54, these agencies would be allowed to
collect some data on race, but this information would not be
readily accessible to the public. Trends in discrimination or
prejudice would therefore go unnoticed.

Proposition 54 naively assumes racism does not exist; therefore,
we should stop collecting data on racial inequalities. It attempts
to rid California of racism by pretending it’s not even
there. Yet just because racism is not as blatant as in the days of
the Jim Crow laws, that does not mean it has been fixed by
legislation and legal codes. Information on race remains vital to
protect our own livelihood and make sure we don’t take steps
backward.

The UC regents and Chancellor Albert Carnesale have voted
against this initiative and its dangers along with a long list of
heath care, political, community and bar associations. Remember
that the effects of Proposition 54, if passed, would hurt us for
years to come.

Kwok is the outreach & publicity coordinator of the
Asian Pacific Coalition; Hing is the community outreach coordinator
of the APC.