. >> give your name, home, address, and social security number. [ laughter ] >> my name is ken aigle, i live in portola valley, which is nearby, for those who are not from this area. my question is about the concept of race. is it a legitimate situational concept in the sense that race is a predictor of social disadvantage? and if that's the case, then the concept of race in 50 years may be no longer important as a determinant of voting policy. so my general question is about the concept of race as a factor, and its future. >> so there are a couple of different answers to that question. one is how is race thought of in the political process, and there i think the starting point is constitutionally race is treated differently from some other criteria, that is the 15th amendment to the constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or color in voting. and the 14th amendment has been interpreted, although it doesn't use the word "race" to contain additional prohibitions. now, the voting rights act itself used the term "race" without defining it, but also contains protections