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Biden proposes changes in ‘whiteness’ of federal workers

January 27, 2023 | | Print Article

The Biden administration is facing some scrutiny over a proposal to change the way it racially/ethnically classifies federal employees.

At the moment, anyone of Middle Eastern or North African descent only has the option of identifying/being classified as “white.”

Were the administration’s proposal to be approved, these individuals would instead have the option of identifying as Middle Eastern or North African.

The proposal would accomplish this by rewriting the Office of Management and Budget 1997 Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15).

But why is all this necessary? The proposal cites “increasing racial and ethnic diversity,” “a growing number of people who identify as more than one race or ethnicity,” and “changing immigration and migration patterns.”

“Over the nearly 25 years since SPD 15 was revised there have been large societal, political, economic, and demographic shifts in the United States throughout this period,” the proposal reads.

The proposal also points to requests from “presenters” who spoke out at “initial public listening sessions.”

“Presenters advocated for the Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) population to be recognized and respected by becoming a new and distinct minimum reporting category because, for example, many in the MENA community do not share the same lived experience as White people with European ancestry, do not identify as White, and are not perceived as White by others,” it reads.

Notice the use of the leftist buzzword “lived experience.”

The proposal also suggests combining race and ethnicity into one question:

The administration is facing a bit of backlash over this proposal because of the continued focus on race and ethnicity.

“New ‘Latino’ and ‘Middle Eastern or North African’ checkboxes proposed for U.S. forms & census? But why do we even track this? So many people are mixed heritage; let’s just get rid of all of the boxes,” one critic tweeted, succinctly summing up the argument against installing a new racial/ethnic category.

See more responses below (*Language warning):

The administration has over the past couple years demonstrated an obsession with race and ethnicity.

For example, back in September, the administration announced eight judicial nominations. But in announcing the nominations, the administration went out of its way to focus on identity.

“These choices … continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds,” the announcement read.

It continued by highlighting how one nominee would be the “first South Asian judge to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York,” how another nominee would be the “second Hispanic man to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York,” etc.

Look:

(Source: White House)

Last year, President Joe Biden likewise chose to nominate since-confirmed Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the high court based almost solely on her race.

And the year prior, the president tried to dole out loans to all farmers except for the white ones.

But why does any of this matter? Conservatives argue that it shouldn’t — and that the left’s obsession with race is driving society backward, not forward.

Vivek Saxena
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