Middletown to Encourage Race Disclosure for “Diversity’ Hiring
With no shame whatsoever, the board of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown, New York, will offer job applicants the option to reveal their race in order to increase the number of blacks and Hispanics so that employees can “more closely match” the skin color demographics of the students. (Source)
In my view, race-neutral hiring and admissions are a step forward for race relations and represent real progress – as opposed to the race-focused ideas of “progressives,” otherwise known as liberals – but Middletown’s school board believes otherwise. An excerpt:
“Based on data on our student population as compared to our employee population a large discrepancy exists that this motion seeks to address and correct. Of the district’s approximate 7000 students 70% are identified as belonging to minority groups. By contrast, for example, of the teaching staff of nearly 500 only about 5% are identified as belonging to minority groups.”
The short article doesn’t explain why the board believes the discrepancy between the percentages of employees and students is undesirable or what it hopes to achieve by hiring more blacks and Hispanics. If the district is hiring people based on qualifications for the job, why does skin color matter? Using race neutral hiring practices surely protects the school district from accusations of discrimination, right? Why would knowing the race of an applicant increase minority hiring? Obviously, the hiring manager would grant preferences to minority applicants. That’s the most reasonable explanation.
What’s happening in small cities like Middletown is indicative of what happens in larger cities across America. The obsession with skin deep-only diversity won’t be cured unless voters decide to put their government out the race business.
