A unanimous appeals court has upheld that vote. There are efforts in Colorado to put a similar initiative on the ballot in 1998. The proposal, like the California Civil Rights Initiative, would place in the state constitution language that is very similar to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But advocates of race-counting aren't giving up easily. Despite recent Supreme Court decisions sharply restricting the use of racial criteria by government, the race-counters carry on business as usual.
Local governments maintain set-asides and other programs.
A school district in the metro-Denver area recently faced angry parent protests over the district's proposal to replace two effective and popular assistant principals with minority candidates in order to provide minority students with more visible role models. Besides invoking role models and diversity, race-counters also argue that governmental discrimination is necessary to level the paying field. They say society is so pervasively racist that minorities cannot get a fair shake without preferential programs. But that view is a caricature that depicts only a piece of society. America has dedicated more law, toil, and tears to bringing about racial justice than any nation in history.