President Obama’s announcement today of a race-specific federal program, “My Brother’s Keeper,” is cause for concern – for whites, blacks, and Latinos. And concern on several levels., writes Keith Koffler at White House Dossier
"First of all, aren’t we all brothers? I’m serious. What about the civil rights of poor white and Asian men? What about, for that matter, low-income young women?
"The keynote of the announcement is that Obama is assembling $200 million in private funds to increase opportunity for black and Hispanic youth.
"I don’t think the government should be choosing races – it’s a dangerous precedent – but fine, it’s private money. It’s what’s beneath the headline that’s most disconcerting.
The initiative also includes an interagency task force – headed by Broderick Johnson, one of Obama’s closest advisors – that will, according to the White House:
Assess the impact of Federal policies, regulations, and programs of general applicability on boys and young men of color, so as to develop proposals that will enhance positive outcomes and eliminate or reduce negative ones.
"What does this mean exactly? Who knows. It sounds like a variety of federal issue are now going to get run through the filter of race and rated based on how much they help minorities..." [Source] [BJS]