Race matters at the DMV? Public values, administrative racism, and Whiteness in local bureaucratic settings

Abstract

This paper explores the tension between the formal values of public administration, administrative racism, and Whiteness in the context of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). It asks: (1) Which values—if any—are being promoted and/or hindered at DMV offices? and (2) How the values of equity and equality, as well as racial power dynamics, maybe reinforced by street-level bureaucrats, or by the physical space of bureaucratic settings? Findings from document analysis and observations in a Midwestern state suggest that efficiency is the dominant value, with equality supported through colorblindness, and security as an emerging value. Formal colorblindness and the focus on security, however, allow for the reinforcement of administrative racism and Whiteness through the social construction of White people as “the norm,” ultimately undermining social equity.

Keywords:

• Race
• social equity
• colorblindness
• administrative racism
• Whiteness

Acknowledgments

I want to thank Dr. Angela Eikenberry at UNO for her guidance and support from the very early stages of this research. I also want to thank the four anonymous reviewers from ATP that provided extremely helpful comments and suggestions in a kind and constructive way.

Disclosure statement

No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 A notorious exception in many states, Nebraska included, is the prohibition for undocumented immigrants to get a state ID or a Driver’s license.

2 This interaction occurred somewhat unexpectedly, out of the need to have an excuse to be at a vacant DMV office without raising any flags. The researcher’s friend is a British Brown woman in her thirties that was visiting and agreed to ask how to obtain a driver’s license as a new immigrant to the country. However, as one of the reviewers noted, having a friend asking questions is not a solid methodological approach, and this particular observation may introduce bias to an already small sample of offices visited.

3 A new head of the Department of Transportation (DOT) was appointed by the Governor in June 2015; that is two months after the 2014 Report was released.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Felipe Blanco

Felipe Blanco is a Doctoral Candidate in Public Administration at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His research interests are around race and ethnicity in public administration and public policies, social equity and racial inequalities, and comparative public administration.