Social Justice: November 2005 Archives

Cross-posted at PowerPAC.org:

Gov. Schwarzenegger this year vetoed eight out of 18 bills that would have helped to advance equity for people of color in California, earning him a "D" grade on the Applied Research Center's annual Report Card on Racial Equity released Wednesday.

The report card, which evaluated the governor and the Legislature on five issue areas -- educational equity, economic justice, health equity, civil rights and criminal justice -- found that Schwarzenegger rejected policies that would have provided significant structural changes in California. Among the most stark examples were AB 772, the Health Access for Kids bill, and AB 48, the Fair Minimum Wage Increase. If signed, these bills would have improved the plight of millions of Black, Latino, Asian Native American, immigrant and poor communities across the state.

In examining each issue area, the report also documents glaring disparities that exist for people of color in California, highlighting very clearly why these reforms that were vetoed are so needed.

• Educational equity: Only one in four high school graduates of color is college-ready in California, compared to 40 percent of whites.
• Economic justice: Blacks and Latinos are nearly three times more likely to live in poverty than whites. Half of Latinos, 43 percent of Blacks, and a quarter of Asians live in or near poverty in California.
• Health equity: Seventy-one percent of California's 6.5 million uninsured are people of color.
• Civil Rights: Since 1995, there have been 12,000 hate crimes in California motivated by race and ethnicity, making up 60% of all hate crimes.
• Criminal justice: California spends more to keep people of color in jail than to provide them with a higher education.

And yet despite the existence of these historical and persistent racial disparities, Gov. Schwarzenegger's veto list reveals a disturbing pattern of resistance to addressing them. For the second year in a row, he vetoed a minimum wage increase and AB 13, which would have simply required public schools to ophase out the racist term "Redskins" in reference to team mascots. He also struck down AB 89, the Employer Health Coverage Disclosure bill, showing a pattern of denying racial disparities by refusing to collect data that may expose those inequities.

The report shows that more work is needed in the Legislature as well. The Assembly received a "C" score, and the Senate a "D," although 40 lawmakers, all Democrats, were listed as "honor roll" members for earning a perfect 100% score on all the bills.

Nevertheless, the report shows that "colorblind" policies have failed California dramatically. Race-based reforms are needed to ensure that all people of this state have an equal oppportunity to learn, live in safe and healthy communities, and earn a living wage.

Right now, Governor Schwarzenegger clearly lacks the courage and political will to address the needs of California's growing majority.

There was one moment in this months-long campaign that really sticks in my mind, and that I think is relevant to why progressives were able to defeat Gov. Schwarzenegger and his corporate-backed initiatives on Tuesday.

It was at the training for the Castro precinct walk in San Francisco last Saturday. Organizers were explaining to volunteers that we were targetting and trying to move only those voters who would be voting no all the first six initiatives. One of the volunteers asked, "What if they say they are going to vote No on 73, but yes on 75? Shouldn't we try to get them to the polls?" Nora Dye, one of the chief organizers from Planned Parenthood who was decked out in a "No on 73" T-shirt and buttons, didn't hesitiate. "We're all in this together," she said simply. "A vote for Prop 75 is a vote against all of us."

Each of the initiatives Schwarzenegger backed in this election touched on a piece of the conservative ideology that is failing us as a nation: government intrusion into personal medical decisions, attacking school teachers for problems in public education while at the same time cutting school funding, and the "it's my money" mentality that disregards the notion that we are all in this together, for the greater good.

Progressives are often criticized for infighting; we are too often defined by our inability to agree on anything. But we showed in this special election that on a very basic level, we know that our strength is in working together. A diverse group of public employees, private unions like the United Farm Workers, Planned Parenthood, consumer groups, good-government groups, the Democratic Party and multi-issue progressive groups like MoveOn, PowerPAC, the Courage Campaign and Speak Out California all came together to help in a beautifully coordinated campaign.

We didn't all agree uniformly on the details of absolutely everything, but we agreed to work together. Our voter guide was a great visual example of that. We were proud to be a part of it, and we look forward to the great things we know we can accomplish as we move ahead.