We will hear constantly about the Gray Davis recall/replacement election on October 7, but there is also another issue on the ballot as Jim Sanders reports for the Sacramento Bee - Racial data battle line drawn:
Four decades after Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of his dream for a society that doesn't judge people by the color of their skin, a first-of-its-kind California ballot initiative is sparking fierce new debate over how best to accomplish that.Needless to say, those with a vested interest in racism have their panties in a knot.
Ward Connerly's new initiative, Proposition 54, is based on the notion that society will never be colorblind as long as government continues to collect, dissect, analyze and fight over racial statistics.
The measure, set for a vote during the Oct. 7 recall election, would ban California government from classifying people according to race, ethnicity, color or national origin, with certain exceptions, such as for medical research or to meet court decrees and federal requirements.
"It's a measured step to have the government see every citizen equally," said Diane Schachterle, Connerly's campaign coordinator. "Society becoming colorblind is something that we, ourselves, have to do -- and government sets the tone."
