ABSTRACT
Public policy encompasses a variety of formal and informal actions (or inactions) taken on the part of government actors to uphold agreed-upon societal principles or to meet the interests of one or more segments of a population. Public policy can be inscribed in formal documents such as legislation, constitutions, national charters, public directives and the like, yet policy is also made when governmental bodies and actors simply do nothing with respect to any given issue or problem apparent within a society, allowing the status quo to be affirmed. With respect to issues relevant to race and ethnicity, policy is often centered on
1 the labeling of individuals according to racial or ethnic categorizations and 2 addressing embedded inequality by actively prohibiting prejudicial behavior,
rectifying systemic oppression or reversing existing policy.
