California Becomes First State to Break Down Black Employee Data by Ethnicity

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media (CBM) – As of Jan. 1, California became the first state in the nation to disaggregate data for its Black population by ethnic lineage. Thanks to a bill authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena). Holden is a member of the California Legilslative Black Caucus. A California Department of Human Resource (CalHR) questionnaire requests newly or rehired employees to voluntarily self-identify their race, ethnicity and gender for the state to track and evaluate equal employment opportunities and non-discriminatory employment practices more accurately. “For the first time, the descendants of our ancestors, people in my family and the families of over 2 million Californians, the overwhelming majority of Black California, will see our community represented and counted among the very important data our state collects, starting among current and future state employees,” said Chris Lodgson, a member of Coalition for Just and Equitable (CJEC). CJEC is a statewide organization comprised of various associations, community groups, and individuals united by a commitment to fight for reparations and reparative justice for descendants of enslaved Black American men and women. Applicants now have the option to check boxes under Black or African American that declare them a...