Public Agenda Issue Guide: Race

Citizens

are confronted with serious issues every minute of the day. Grasping the underlying issues from the headlines is a difficult task. Give us ten minutes a day and we will help bring clarity to the chaos of the news, policy and issues.

ON THE AGENDA

Is It Me Or Is This Dorm Room Crowded?

Paul Gasbarra
Sep 4, 2008

Enrollment is up this year, so up in fact that colleges are struggling to keep up. USA Today reports that many state schools are seeing far more freshmen than they anticipated. Now they have to scramble to find enough dorm rooms and classrooms to house and educate them all.

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Point Of Bipartisan Agreement: Poverty Stats Need Work

Francie Grace
Sep 2, 2008

From free market purists to advocates of government jobs programs, there's a great deal of disagreement across the political spectrum on what should be done to help America's poorest, but many people of various political stripes agree that an update is definitely in order for the formula the government uses to set the poverty rate.

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FACING UP TO THE
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ISSUE GUIDE: Race

OVERVIEW

Race

Race is the enduring, heartbreaking problem of American society, and always has been -- after all, the first slaves arrived in North America a year before the Pilgrims did. Race provides disconcerting undercurrents to the epic events of American history, like the Revolutionary War and the settlement of the West. It lurks behind discussions of many public issues, perhaps all of them. At any given moment, the American struggle with race gives us reason to hope and reasons to fear the future.

GET THE FACTS

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CONSIDER THE CHOICES

The civil rights strategy

The affirmative action strategy

The equal opportunity strategy

The only fair and effective way to achieve racial equality is by scrupulously adhering to the principle of equality under the law. Racial justice requires a comprehensive public effort to break down discriminatory barriers, redress individual grievances, and ensure equal treatment in education, in the workplace, and elsewhere. The Constitution promises equal opportunity, not equal results. The government's obligation is to ensure that the rules of the game are the same for everyone. Beyond that, no further public action to help individuals is consistent with our political beliefs.
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It is not enough for government to be concerned with individual acts of discrimination. A nation dedicated to the principle of equal treatment has to recognize the enduring legacy of racial discrimination and compensate for it. Groups that have traditionally experienced discrimination, and continue to experience discrimination, must be given preferential treatment to facilitate progress toward racial equality. Racial justice is achieved when there is evidence of roughly equal results -- for example, a proportionate number of individuals of various races who hold good-paying jobs.
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The major barrier to racial equality today is not racial bias or discrimination but poverty- related conditions that keep many members of minority groups from becoming literate and employable, and prevent them from moving into the American mainstream. Only when government provides the material prerequisites for a decent life -- including quality early education for everyone -- does equality of opportunity exist. The most promising way to achieve racial equality is by taking additional measures to provide an equal opportunity to everyone, regardless of race.
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