Affirmative Action at the Crossroads: Colorblind Racism and the Decline of African Americans in Public Contracting

Abstract

In 1996, Proposition 209 eliminated affirmative action in public education, employment, and contracting. Called the California Civil Rights Initiative, this proposition ended race- and gender-conscious programs designed to increase participation and opportunity in public contracting. Fueled by public discourse on fairness and equal opportunity, Proposition 209 challenged the notion that affirmative action could correct a history of discrimination; and thereby challenged our common understanding of how to enforce a “colorblind” society in which all are free to compete. This article discusses the findings of a 2006 report by the Discrimination Research Center on Proposition 209 and the severe impact it had on the ability of African American businesses to compete for contracts in California's construction industry.

Keywords:

• affirmative action
• African Americans
• civil rights
• colorblind racism
• construction
• public contracting
• proposition 209

Notes

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President Lyndon B. Johnson Commencement address at Howard University, “To Fulfill These Rights.” 4 June 1965.

Reverse discrimination is a term used to describe the perception that race-conscious remedies that articulate specific participation, hiring, or admissions goals for people of color adversely affect white applicants.

DEGA/TMS. (1995, May). City of San Diego MBE/WBE Predicate Study Report/V.1. San Diego, CA: City of San Diego.

Blanchflower, D.G. and Wainwright, J. (2005, November). An Analysis of the Impact of Affirmative Action Programs on Self-Employment in the Construction Industry. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Discrimination Research Center (August 2006). Free to Compete? Measuring the Impact of Proposition 209 on Minority Business Enterprises, p. 34.

Bates, T. and Williams, D. (May 1996). “Do Preferential Procurement Programs Benefit Minority Business?” The American Economic Review 86(2), pp. 294–297f.

Discrimination Research Center, 2006. pp. 20–25.

Discrimination Research Center (August 2006). Free to Compete? Measuring the Impact of Proposition 209 on Minority Business Enterprises, p. 41.

Discrimination Research Center, August 2006, pp. 28–29.

Discrimination Research Center, August 2006, pp. 34–37.

Richard Paddock, “Affirmative Action era is over, longtime foe says.” Los Angeles Times, 26 November 2006.