Black Conservatives Available to the Media for Comment on California Race Initiative

10/6/2003

From: David Almasi of the National Center for Public Policy Research, 202-371-1400, ext. 106

News Advisory:

Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are available for comment on Proposition 54 -- the "Racial Privacy Initiative" -- that will be decided by California voters on Oct. 7.

Proposition 54 would prohibit California state agencies from classifying individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, color and national origin. Exceptions are made for compliance with federal rules and for select medical and law enforcement purposes. The Racial Private Initiative will appear on the same ballot as the California gubernatorial recall.

Project 21 is a non-partisan organization that does not involve itself in political campaigns, but members of Project 21 are available for media interviews about the potential impact of Proposition 54 and California and the nation and how black Americans feel about the issue of racial classification in matters such as school admissions, hiring and other places where racial identity can be a deciding factor.

For example, commenting on polling data from the 2003 Multilingual Survey of California Voters showing that Proposition 54 is supported by all major ethnic classifications, Project 21 member Deroy Murdock recently wrote it "dramatically would diminish race-obsessed policies that teem with difficulties, among them, defining who belongs to which ethnic group. Intermarriage and mixed children have rendered ethnic taxonomy nearly unworkable ... (It) could help unite us as citizens rather than keep us divided into increasingly meaningless micro-categories based on skin color, hair thickness or the angles at which our eyes see the world. The beautiful irony is that California's voters of color may lead a new American march toward colorblindness."

Project 21 has been a leading voice in the African-American community since 1992. For more information and to schedule an interview, contact David Almasi at 202-371-1400 ext. 106 or Project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's Web site at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html.