I agree with points made by Andy Discroll, former St. Paul Human Rights commissioner, in the email pasted below my closing. The testing / auditing to which Andy refers is often the only way to determine whether an employer weeds out prospective employees on the basis of race / ethnicity, and to determine whether tenants and home buyers are similarly weeded out or treated differently in the housing markets. That's why I propose that the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department be given the necessary resources and a mandate to do extensive testing / auditing in the job and housing markets, and to prosecute those who are found to be engaged in illegal, race-based discrimination.
And I am going to continue to point out that the Minneapolis School District and the MN Dept. of Education are not in compliance with the state desegregation rule, which requires that teachers in "racially isolated" schools (e.g., predominantly black student population) have qualifications and experience levels comparable to teachers in schools that are not racially identifiable. The district is in violation of title VI of the civil rights act of 1964, which requires school districts to monitor ability-grouping practices, which involves collecting and breaking down data that can show how grouping practices affect education related outcomes. Doug Mann, King Field candidate for 8th ward city council http://educationright.com/blog Re: [Mpls] Employment and Race Correction Andy Driscoll Wed, 08 Jun 2005 19:25:37 -0700 If the results of this testing are as Dane related them, I, for one, have no reason to believe otherwise, these are clear cases of employment discrimination and subject to legal action. This is not a study, or a survey or a poll, it's a testing, something civil rights monitors in the Twin Cities as well as Milwaukee and other urban centers do all the time (and have done for 50 years) because it's often the only way to identify companies (as with realtors and landlords in the housing arena) willing to weed out potential employees based on their color. And that's the point: that people who care about these issues will test the marketplace for signs of racial discrimination in violation of local and state human right laws in preparation for official complaints and, if necessary, punishment. The ultimate goal is to change behaviors or be penalized for breaking the law. Changing hiring practices to make them more color-blind (or gender-blind, etc.) is the ultimate goal because what we really want are jobs for traditionally excluded peoples based on everything but their qualifications to do the work required. - - REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
