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Multi-Racial Grass
Roots Coalition Defeats Californiaâs Proposition
54
By Jade Poljak, Advancement Project Intern
On October
7, 2003 California voters did not only recall
a Governor, they also overwhelmingly said NO
to a ballot initiative - the Race Information
Ban- known as Proposition 54. In a state often
heralded for progressive politics, but lately
known more infamously for approving a number
of conservative initiatives that attack immigrant
and minority rights, the landslide 64-36 % victory
demonstrates the importance of coalition organizing
to the preservation of a racially just democracy.
Exit polls showed that reaching the minority
voters was the crucial factor: while only 58%
of the whites voted against the proposition,
a whopping 79% of blacks and 70% of Hispanics
did so (USA Today, Oct. 9, 2003).
Originally initiated by the conservative University
of California Regent, Ward Connerly, Proposition
54 aimed to prohibit any government agency in
California from collecting data on race, ethnicity,
color or national origin and using it to classify
those involved in public education, public contracting,
or public employment. Proposition 54 made it
clear: without a two-thirds vote of the state
legislature and the signature of the Governor
of the state, few exceptions would be made.
While Connerly claimed the Proposition would
lead the state toward a color-blind future,
critics warned of the dangers.
Health care professionals warned it would severely
limit their ability to treat patients and cure
diseases because it would prohibit compilation
of the necessary statistical information needed
to treat and study diseases among different
ethnic groups. Similarly, education experts
warned that losing access to statistical information,
other than the federally required racial data
such as college admission and graduation rates,
would severely undermine efforts to equalize
access to effective education for children of
all backgrounds. ã[U]nder Prop 54, we will only
be able to know that Latino and African Americans
get lower test scores, graduate from high school
at lower rates, and are underrepresented at
the University of California.ä a coalition of
education experts said. ãHowever, Prop 54 will
forbid us to know anything about why.ä (See: http://www.defeat54.org/education.shtml).
Racial advocates also denounced Proposition
54 and formed a strong statewide coalition that
would ultimately help defeat the Proposition.
The Coalition for An Informed California included
400 local and national organizations from virtually
every field, including healthcare, civil and
workers rights, and education. The coalition
first developed an effective strategy of organizing
the campaign at the community level among the
three major ethnic groups- African-American,
Latino and Asian-American so that ãeach was
reaching out to its own communityä (Copley News
Service, Oct. 8, 2003). Then they launched a
successful on-the-ground campaign employing
hundreds of volunteers to disseminate door hangers,
make telephone calls, and conduct community
presentations.
In addition, the coalition raised over 4 million
dollars for an aggressive television and radio
campaign against the Proposition and they purchased
radio advertising on urban hip-hop and Spanish-language
stations in order to reach minority voters.
Gubernatorial recall candidate Lt. Gov. Cruz
Bustamante contributed an additional $3.8 million
in donations from public-employee unions and
casino-owning Indian tribes into ads denouncing
the measure. Television ads against the proposition
featured former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett
Koop and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Ultimately, the coalition had one goal in mind:
educate citizens on the dangers of Proposition
54 and encourage them to vote NO on that crucial
Election Day. On October 7, 2003 the Coalition
reached its goal! |
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