 |
|
     |
|
|
But how do we start? Here are 10 steps toward a common path By Christopher Edley, Jr. The chancellor has not yet announced his intentions regarding directions for the research dimension of the diversity-related initiatives that seem sure to be one of the signature contributions of his tenure. No doubt those directions will reflect the expertise and input from many on campus and beyond. The agenda for research demands a multidisciplinary mobilization across a vast range of topics. But where to start? Here’s my first draft of a top ten list to get us started, focusing on areas in which the intellectual capital we generate can lead to research-based prescriptions for private practice and public policy. 1. Prop. 209. California’s constitutional amendment banning most forms of voluntary, public sector affirmative action remains controversial. What have been its consequences, and what are the options for and likely consequences of reform or repeal? 2. K-12 Reform. In K-12 education, what are the causes, consequences, and remedies for the deep and persistent racial disparities in achievement and attainment? In social policy, the weapons of mass destruction are schools in which high school graduation is unusual and matriculation in a four-year college a lightning strike. 3. Immigration Reform. Our immigration system is profoundly broken, with perhaps 10 million undocumented aliens, vitally important to our economy, working in the shadows. People are dying in the deserts, labor markets don’t respect borders, armed gunmen patrol the border, and “restrictionists” want to drape the Statute of Liberty in sackcloth. What new policies and enforcement strategies would restore order and lawfulness, while honoring human and civil rights? 4. Higher Education Access. The door is slowly swinging closed to opportunity in California’s three-tiered higher education system. Just as the state’s student population is shift ing to a majority minority, California’s Master Plan is being all but shredded, resulting in fewer slots and higher tuitions. What can be done and how can we afford it? 5. Crime, Incarceration, and Reentry. America leads the world in its astonishingly high rates of incarceration, with African Americans and Latinos dramatically overrepresented. The disproportionate involvement in the criminal justice system—as victims, off enders, and ex-felons reentering society—is crippling low-income communities of color. What is to be done? 6. Unequal Healthcare Treatment. There is overwhelming research documenting pervasive racial and ethnic disparities in the clinical treatment of a wide range of conditions, but how can legions of healthcare providers and organizations change or be changed? 7. Color vs. Race. Are traditional categories of race and ethnicity fading in importance, to be replaced by “color,” in a “Latin Americanization” of California and the United States? That is, are social constructions of race and ethnicity shifting from genotype to phenotype and language? If so, with what implications for law, policy, and culture? 8. Indian Country Development. The too-common misperception is that gaming has solved the problems in Indian Country, but the harsh realities of continuing public health, education, and economic challenges make a compelling indictment of America’s capacity to let color get in the way of caring. What new strategies are required, and what form of tribal sovereignty will deliver on the overdue promises of dignity and opportunity? 9. Invisible Asians. In many policy contexts, national origin groups with widely differing concerns are often subsumed under the categories “Asian” or “Asian American,” and critical problems of specific subgroups go unattended. What are the most important examples of how this crude, artificial “racialization” distorts policy, and what can be done? 10. Understanding Bias. Cognitive scientists have devised experimental means of identifying powerful, unconscious forms of prejudice, termed “implicit bias,” that are all but universal and may shape behavior in subtle ways. What are the implications measuring the prevalence of discrimination, for antidiscrimination law, and for strategies to overcome bias? There are countless other issues, from the digital divide to waning public support for the integration ideal, and from voting rights to environmental justice—enough to engage the best battalions Berkeley can muster, plus the many allies that will join our effort. Since arriving on campus nine months ago, my mantra has been that the distinctive mission of a great public law school includes harnessing our excellence in teaching and in the production of knowledge to engage the most difficult and important problems facing society. Much the same can be said of Berkeley as a whole. Berkeley’s history with the national labs is instructive, as are our current initiatives in nanotechnology and CITRIS. In my view, no assignment is a higher priority for California and the nation today than addressing the ways we handle racial and ethnic diversity, or fail to. The role for Berkeley is clear. We prepare leaders. We find answers. We make a difference. —Christopher Edley Jr. is Dean and Professor of Law, Boalt Hall
|
| ||||||||
| About
CAA Contact
Us
Update
your Address CAA Career Opportunities Privacy Policy |
©2009 California Alumni
Association. All Rights Reserved For questions about CAA: info@alumni.berkeley.edu Technical inquiries: web@alumni.berkeley.edu
|
Alumni House Berkeley, CA 94720-7520 Toll-Free: (888) CAL-ALUM Phone: (510) 642-7026 Fax: (510) 642-6252
|
