Government 'Disparity' in an Age of DNA Testing

        EDITOR'S NOTE: Misrepresentation by contractors in the awarding of M/WBE goods and services contracts remains an ongoing and unresolved problem with local governments. This recently updated article offers a genealogist's 21st century scientific - but socially controversial - solution using DNA testing.
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        For more than two years, Palm Beach County and the City of West Palm Beach, like many local governments across the U.S., worked to codify their "disparity studies" to increase minority hiring and business contract opportunities.
        The West Palm Beach Commission approved, 5-0, on first reading, the creation of a Minority/Women/Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program based upon their disparity study at its Dec. 19, 2016 meeting.
        In the City of West Palm Beach, the program will establish M/WBE set-aside goals for city construction contracts, goods and services. The ordinance had an effective date of March 17, 2017.
        In 2015, Palm Beach County launched a special "Disparity Study Website" to evaluate government procurement and contracting preferences, and increase M/WBEs receiving county contracts. The Commission received its final disparity report from a consultant on Dec. 19, 2017 and approved its program in 2018.
        A disparity study is defined as a technique used to determine how well an organization involves minority-owned businesses, and to what extent remedial programs for prior racial exclusion are provided. Disparity studies also seek to provide equal government contract opportunities for women of all races.
        The federal government defines a minority group member as an individual who is of Asian, African-American, Hispanic or native American heritage. A birth certificate listing a racial or ethnic designation, combined with a signed "Affidavit of Ethnic Designation," will qualify an individual for minority business status in the State of Florida.

DNA Testing and Ancestry
        There is a growing concern that in an age of DNA genetic ancestry testing, and rapid population changes due to mass immigration, the guidelines used for minority preferences are in need of updating to prevent misrepresentation by business owners seeking government contracts.
        Currently, when it comes to awarding minority contracts, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, like most federal agencies, relies on racial data based on the "self-identification" model.
        The 2010 Census of the Population, Data File P94-171, defines self-identification as "the racial categories included in the Census questionnaire generally reflecting a 'social definition' of race recognized in this country, and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically or genetically..."
        One group historically excluded by this racial "self-identification" model are persons of mixed race (multiracial) ancestry. Prior to the 2000 U.S. Census, multiracial Americans were denied the right of self-identification in Census Bureau surveys.
        Between the years 1790 and 2000, multiracial Americans could select just one racial category, and thus were forced to exclude their second ancestry. Their only alternative was to choose the generic "Other" racial category.
        "Other" is not a category generally accepted by the federal government for minority contract or hiring considerations. This disparity legacy is not addressed by many government agencies today.
        A total of 9.1 million citizens selected more than one racial group on their 2010 Census forms. "Project Race," an advocacy organization for multiracial Americans, believes the Census Bureau is undercounting persons of mixed-race ancestry.
        The viewpoint of Project Race is supported by DNA genetic testing studies used to determine the ancestry and geographic origins of individuals.
        In a December 2014 article entitled "White? Black? A Murky Distinction Grows Still Murkier," the New York Times reported the results of a DNA ancestral study by Harvard University and other academics using data from the "23andMe" genetic testing service.
        The study revealed about 24 percent of African-Americans who self-identify as black carry European DNA genomes. The genetic markers for Hispanics find 65.1 percent carry European genomes as well as 18 percent native American.
        Using the DNA-tested sample group of 160,000 provided by "23andMe," researchers also estimated that more than 6 million European-Americans have African ancestry markers.
        The issue facing government officials is whether the established Census-based racial model of "self-identification" should be supplemented or even replaced by scientific analysis based upon DNA profiles. It is an unresolved political and a social issue looming on the horizon.
        The federal government allows "self-reporting" to determine native American minority status. However, most native American tribes require a specific percentage of "native blood or blood quantum" in addition to ancestral documentation as proof.
        Some self-governing tribes require as much as 25 percent native heritage, but most allow membership if a person has at least one native American great-grandparent.
        One classic example of the conflict between government minority identification and scientific DNA testing is persons of Hungarian ancestry. The government identifies modern Hungarians (Magyars) as Europeans based on geography.
        However, prior to the year 900 A.D. Magyars were an Asian people that today still speak a non-European Uralic dialect. Many Hungarians carry Asian genetic markers. Should a person's minority status be determined by a government classification or his/her own ancestral DNA?
       
Future Demographic Trends
        According to U.S. Census Population Reports, by the year 2020, "more than half of the nation's children (under the age of 18) are expected to be part of a minority race or ethnic group."
        For example, the Palm Beach County School District has a minority enrollment of 65 percent. Public schools in the district have a diversity score of 0.72, compared to the State of Florida average of 0.64 percent, according to the Public School Review.
        The U.S Census 2014 Population Projections also predict by the year 2044, the United States will become a "minority-majority" nation.
        These demographic trends will create new challenges for both government legal and human resources staff. In a diverse multiracial minority-majority society, who will qualify for government contract preferences?
        Expect DNA testing to be presented as evidence in future minority procurement appeal hearings as government contracts become more competitive.
        Perhaps by the year 2044, diversity will be achieved at all levels of government, and disparity studies will be consigned to dusty archives in the future. Today, that ideal state of governance remains a work in progress.
(c.) Davidsson. 2016.

*END NOTE: Article updated February 2019. The (retired) author of this article provided more than 20 years of family history research services for the PBC Library System, and was awarded the 2006 "Outstanding Achievement Award" by the Florida State Genealogical Society. See additional articles below and in Older Posts.