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Right to Know The Civil Rights Coalition, an alliance of
civil rights advocacy groups based in San Francisco is prodding Governor Gray Davis to sign legislation that will bring government activities that may have discriminatory impact to light. Some of the bills were vetoed by the
Governor last year and are up for reconsideration. The legislation would:
- Require police to record the perceived race and ethnicity of those pulled over for a traffic stop (more familiarly known as the "Driving While Black or Brown (DWB)" bill);
- Ensure the State of California keeps data on public contracts made with minority and women operated business to document any institutional bias;
- Provide for the collection of data on the: experience of teachers, counselors and administrators; availability of advanced placement courses and classes to help students pass state administered tests; and the availability
of contemporary textbooks and technology to allow for comparisons in the quality of education provided to students attending schools serving low-income and upper-income areas;
- Require school districts to provide the Department of Education with data regarding the race and ethnicity of students who are suspended and expelled;
- Allow the press to have access to prison inmates so that they could have an alternative source of information about conditions within prison walls;
- Require schools to report incidents of bias-motivated violence.
Eva Patterson, Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Co-chair of the Coalition, announced at a press conference held in the Capitol on March 29th that she would temper her prepared remarks because
the governor's Office has indicated that the Governor would meet with the Coalition if he was not "blasted" at the press conference. However, there was no mistaking the tenor of the materials prepared by the
Coalition. They portray a split between the Governor and the civil rights groups represented by the Coalition that is unlikely to be bridged any time soon. The Coalition consists of about sixty civil rights,
labor and non-profit organizations including CAHRO. Maria Blanco, Regional Council for the Mexican-American legal Defense and Education Fund, Co-Chair of the Civil Rights Coalition said, "People of color helped elect
Gray Davis. If he wants to get re-elected he can't continue to ignore our concerns." The legislation was portrayed as modest since all it does is allow public access to information on key sectors of state
government activities. None of the bills affect existing policies, nor require any action other than data gathering and providing public access to information. Members of the Coalition view efforts of the Governor to
veto the legislation as a concern to all Californians regardless of their political beliefs since the bill does not cater to any particular group and is centrist in its intentions.
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