Bias Against <i> Any </i> Race Is Unacceptable : Los Angeles: The exclusion of 5,000 white applicants from a firefighter test shows how good intentions can go awry.

Because of their skin color, “white,” 5,000 applicants were prohibited from taking the firefighter exam in February.

The genesis of this Draconian remedy is a 1974 consent decree between the city of Los Angeles and the Justice Department. The decree’s interim and long-range goals effectively required the Fire Department to hire 50% of its firefighters from minorities. Since then, significant change has taken place. The percentage of Caucasian firefighters has been reduced from 93% to 67%. Fortunately, the decree never compromised on the qualifications of a firefighter. Regardless of the race of the individual, it is still current law and practice to hire the best-qualified individuals.

However, it seems that the screening of potential applicants has gotten bogged down in a bureaucratic maze. In this case, Los Angeles was burdened with the racial exclusion of 5,000 individuals who waited in good faith for years to take the exam.

Discrimination is against the fundamental values of the American culture. It was wrong in the Jim Crow era and it is wrong 100 years later.

Some questions trouble me. What is a “minority”? For example, Los Angeles has changed demographically in the last 20 years. We have many new citizens who do not fit neatly into the traditional minority role.

I asked a city personnel official if newly immigrated Iranian Americans are considered a minority and was told they are considered Caucasian. I was informed that Arab Americans are considered Caucasians, as well as people from India. It seems that traditional definitions are no longer appropriate. Moreover, what about my children? I asked how they should apply. I was told my Euro-Asian children should claim they are Asian to fit the goals.

California now produces more interracial marriages than any other state. With the inevitable growth of mixed racial groups, the American melting pot continues to transform our culture. At the same time, holding onto stereotype images of mono-racial groups, whose numbers are declining, means that racial quotas become arbitrary and are ultimately useless.

Everyone recognizes the importance of encouraging minority races to get a fair opportunity to become firefighters. But in the hands of bureaucracy, this process can become a horror show by creating a new level of racial exclusion.

In order to maintain the quality of one of the most effective fire departments in the world, I support the following alternatives that would address the concerns of increased minority participation but protect the quality of firefighting personnel.

First, any applicant should be allowed to take the examination and not be denied that right on grounds of race. Allowing all individuals to take the firefighter exam will still afford sufficient numbers of individuals in the minority races to meet the 50/50 goal of the consent decree.

Second, the examination should take place on a regular basis; the last test was four years ago. Applicants should be given the opportunity to take the test at least every six months. It is unfair for potential applicants to have to wait years, not knowing when or if they can take the examination. It is especially unfair if someone waits years to take the examination, only to be informed that he is not permitted to take the test because of the color of his skin.

The election of Mayor Riordan provided a new sense of direction, hope and energy for Los Angeles. The old policies of rigid goals are insensitive to current legitimate goals of all citizens. Hostility toward any race is no longer acceptable. If Los Angeles is to become safer and more prosperous, it must establish a world-class attitude that gives everyone an equal opportunity to serve our city.