‘No’ on Props. 53 and 54
Proposition 54, which would forbid the state from collecting race data in most instances, is well-intentioned but dangerously misguided. With the admirable goal of promoting a "colorblind" society, it would put limits on our ability to understand how various racial groups in the state are doing. This would be especially dangerous in the area of health care, where racial differences matter greatly. And other questions remain: Do black drivers get stopped more often? Are schools that serve mostly Latinos in worse shape than schools serving European-Americans? We need to know the answers. It’s one thing to be "colorblind"; it’s quite another to become blind to racial discrimination.