Concerning Blacks and Affirmative Action.

Over the past four decades, the Federal Government has demonstrated a growing concern for the rights of minorities, after nearly three quarters of a century of governmental indifference. The courts have led the way, providing substantive civil rights meaning to the broadconstitutional mandates of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. The Executive branch followed, through a series of Executive Orders by the last six Presidents, directing Federal departments and agencies to assure against discrimination in their own activities and in the practices of those with whom they deal.

Over the past four decades, the Federal Government has demonstrated a growing concern for the rights of minorities, after nearly three quarters of a century of governmental indifference. The courts have led the way, providing substantive civil rights meaning to the broadconstitutional mandates of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. The Executive branch followed, through a series of Executive Orders by the last six Presidents, directing Federal departments and agencies to assure against discrimination in their own activities and in the practices of those with whom they deal.

Congress was the last of the three branches to act. Since 1957, Congress has enacted five Civil Rights Laws, including the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the fair Housing Law of 1968. Equal employment opportunity is mandated by a host of Federal enactment's, statutes, judicial decisions interpreting the Constitution, and Executive Orders and regulations. Together, these enactment's constitute a comprehensive ban on job discrimination, covering Federal, State and Local jobs and nearly all private employment. Almost any act of discrimination by government or private employer violates some aspect of Federal Law. The remedies available to redress such discrimination, however, vary widely in their scope and efficacy." Summary, The Federal Civil Rights Enforcement Effort," A Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights 1971, p. 1, Clearinghouse Publication No. 31, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Cited hereafter as " Summary "

AN HISTORICAL COMPENDIUM

To understand the casual roots and sustaining conditions of discrimination and disadvantagement that minorities in general, and Blacks in particular, have encountered in America requires a succinct review of American history. What emerges in the conclusion, is that the economic and employment disadvantagement of the Black American is not a single issue, but a composite of interrelated issues.

The Black man is not a recent arrival to American society and cannot be expected to repeat the cycle of assimilation and social mobility which many immigrant groups experienced. The Blackman's exclusion is not a matter of cultural strangeness bred in a foreign land, but rather a product of American society--the decades and centuries of political disfranchisement and de factos egregation.

CONCERNING BLACKS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The historical practices of employment discrimination rest not only on the denial of equal employment practices within the American social structure nor the psychological and attitudinal prejudices manifested by the white race and perpetrated on the black race. To view employment inequalities that Black people have experienced as a product of prejudicial attitudes is to fail to recognize that patterns of exclusion are not merely psychological side issues in an otherwise sound social and economic structure.

In the context of Blacks and jobs, attitudes are relevant only insofar as they give rise to and sustain inequities in the opportunity structure which affects employment. The strategy which places attitudinal changes as the antecedents of social change neglects the significance of structural barriers limiting the
Blackman's access to job opportunities.

The employment problem experienced by many Blacks, must be viewed in several aspects of dimensions:

The context of the urban social milieu

The patterns of residential segregation that typify metropolitan and other urban areas that create an ecological
barrier

Deteriorated community and institutional facilities

The educational and skills deficiencies on the part of many Blacks

The escalating rise of unemployment and under employment, especially among blacks

The backdrop of national manpower needs and issues

Current technological advancements which are making sweeping changes in the whole structure of jobs and job opportunities

Thus, the problem of equal employment opportunity can
be relegated to an aggregate of issues and conditions
which must be addressed and in many instances rectified
if Black people are to achieve full parity in the American
social, educational and economic system.


EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY


The Civil Rights Act of 1964, was the result developments
on both the protest and legislative front. However,
it should be noted that as far back as the era of the
" New Deal " minorities had been protesting
the inequities that were prevalent practices in American
society.


In 1941, Executive Order 8802, established a Fair Employment
Practice Committee and decreed that there should be
no discrimination in the


CONCERNING BLACKS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY


Executive Order, 9346 was established to reaffirm the
governments attempt at equalizing employment opportunities.


Executive Order 10479, promulgated in 1953, reiterated
that the governments' policy was to insure support
for all qualified citizens. The committee established
under this Executive Order attempted to intensify the
fight against discrimination by; clarifying and strengthening
the nondiscrimination clause government contracts and
further developing the complaint procedure and implementing
the procedure for compliance


The most far reaching of all Executive Orders aimed
at eliminating discrimination in employment was Executive
Order 10925, issued in 1961 which established the Equal
Employment Opportunity Committee. The aims and intentions
of the order did not differ significantly in substance
from previous orders, but it did however, represent
a milestone in executive administrative action. The
new order provided for specified sanctions to be levied
in the event of non-compliance by a firm doing business
with the Government , and changed the committee to
use the tools that were available to its predecessors,
but never used by them.


These tools levied upon the committee included the authority
to; cancel government contracts to employers who practiced
discrimination; the power to block future contracts
due to non-compliance; the power to assume jurisdiction
over any complaint filed with a constricting agency
with the Government, as well as any cases pending;
to initiate inquiries or direct investigations.


Under this new mandate, emphasis was placed primarily
upon the realization that continued discrimination
in employment is a violation of basic individual rights
and interferes with the effective utilization of
nation's manpower resources. Title VII of the 1964
Civil Rights Act, provided for pragmatic coverage and
applicability to equalizing employment opportunities
beyond the federal and federally contracted employment
sector.


Title VII states, categorically, that; employment discrimination
is prohibited by employers with 25 or more employees,
labor unions with 25 or more members or those which
operate hiring halls, and employment agencies which
regularly obtain employees for an employer covered
by the title.


Other important prohibitions of the Act include;


It is an unlawful employment practice for an employment
agency to classify an individual, or to fail or refuse
to refer him for employment, or otherwise discriminate
against him on the basis of race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin.


It is an unlawful employment practice for a labor organization
to exclude a person from its membership or to discriminate
among its members in any way, or to attempt to persuade
an employer to discriminate on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin.




CONCERNING BLACKS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY


Discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin in admission to or employment
in any apprenticeship or other training program, including
on-the-job training, is prohibited.


Recrimination for opposing unfair employment practices
or for instigating or testifying in any proceeding
brought under the title are prohibited.


On the other hand the Act provides that it is not unlawful
employment practices


To employ an individual on the basis of his religion,
sex, national origin when one of those is a bona fide
occupational qualification reasonably necessary to
the normal operation of a particular establishment.


For an educational institution owned, supported, controlled
or managed by a religious organization, or one whose
curriculum is directed toward the propagation of a
particular religion, to hire and employ persons of
that religion in any of its activities.

To apply different conditions of employment, including
compensation, based on a bona fide seniority or merit
system, piece work, or job location system, so long
as the differences do not result from an intentional
act of discrimination because of race, color, sex,
religion, or national origin.


To act upon the results of a professionally developed
ability test so long as the test is not designed to
discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex.
or national origin.




AFFIRMATION ACTION


The passage of civil rights bills and executive orders
are only law a which create an environment for the
changes that are needed before full and equal employment
can be made a reality to Blacks and other minorities.
Although the " legal " right to equal employment
opportunity is broadly protected, one of the
major means for securing it

" in fact " through enforcement and penalized
non-compliance is lacking.


To this end, one of the most interesting programs in
the field of civil rights was initiated by the Vice
President, Lyndon B. Johnson during the early part
of the Kennedy Administration. The " Plans for
Progress " was a program which called for commitment
on the part of major companies, unions, and other organized
labor firms to take voluntary action in compliance
with the new civil rights acts, and to recruit, hire,
promote, pay, and train persons who had here to fore
been denied equal access to employment. Meaning, Blacks,
Spanish surnamed, and women. This program was a catalyst
for the program we commonly call today " Affirmative
Action ." Affirmative Action is a program


CONCERNING BLACKS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY


designed to serve as a low key enforcement mechanism,
whereby employees more or less validate their efforts
to comply with the laws and

executive orders concerning equal employment opportunities
for minorities.


Affirmative Action is a program geared to act as a check
and balance system in the personnel functions of a
organization. As such, it monitors the companies in
their efforts to fulfill the requirements stipulated
by law, that is, not to deny employment, or employment
opportunities to an individual based on race, color,
sex, religion, or national origin. Affirmative Action,
through the National Labor Relations Act, has extended
its coverage and applicability to include not only,
employers, but also employee labor unions. Employee
unions are obligated to act fairly, impartially and
without discrimination in membership solicitation and
employee representation.


The Office of Contract Compliance (OFCC) has responsibility
for coordinating and overseeing the entire Federal
Contract Compliance Program. Recently, the OFCC has
issued directives defining affirmative action requirements
to its contractors. Although affirmative action programs
have been established by a majority of business in
America, more efforts should be focused on enforcement
and amelioration of discriminatory employment practices.


PRESENT STATE OF THE ART


Generally, civil rights laws have been most successful
in dealing with practices that do not require complex
institutional change. The desegregation of the public
accommodations, hospitals, and other facilities required
basic, but simple changes in conduct, and was accomplished
without massive opposition or Federal enforcement.
In fields where complex institutional change is required,
and there has been little direct intervention in the
part of the Federal Government, progress has been slow
in coming and in some instances it can barely be discerned.


In the employment field, elimination of discriminatory
practices to facilitate full participation of minority
group members in the Nation's economic mainstream has
proved to be a complex process. Minorities are still
grossly under-represented in the higher eschleon salary
brackets. Minorities are hired and locked into closed-end
jobs with little hope of achieving any substantial
growth or advancement. They are hired, promoted, and
paid on a scale that is bipartisan in scope and nature,
and which acts as a deterrent to their full participation
in the nation's economic system.


Affirmative Action programs although resolute in intent,
have not proved themselves as resolutions to the problems
that Blacks cuttingly encounter when seeking employment,
promotions or other forms of remuneration. Affirmative
action implies change and impacts upon the values and
beliefs of the controlling minority which includes
policy makers who have the basic responsibility for
the integration of such change.


CONCERNING BLACKS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY


PROSPECTUS


If affirmative action programs are to remain viable
and achieve their goals, that is the amelioration of
discrimination in employment and advance the rights
of all citizens to equal opportunity, a unilateral
approach consisting of substantive and coherent changes
must be applied with a conatus effort in the part of
all parties concerned. Included in this effort are
the following recommendations:


That Affirmative Action programs be relegated to a
higher status within the corporate structure and administered
by top management officials.


That the Federal government lend assistance in developing
affirmative action programs and guidelines of sufficient
breadth and specificity that it will lend itself to
a more uniform application in setting priorities and
policies toward the achievement of specified goals.


All affirmative action programs goals and guidelines
should specifically delineate the steps and procedures
by which the goals will be measured and completed.


These should include: a time table for achievement;
the way in which the program will be geared; compliance
and enforcement mechanisms spelled out in terms of
their utilization and interim evaluation dates and
revision policies relevant effort should be made on
the part of educational institutions to ensure "
Quality " education for residents of he inner-city.




Career development and career path programs should be
a built-in component of the affirmative action program.


Career planning should be initiated at every level of
employment.


Minorities should be actively recruited into training
and development programs sponsored by the organization.



Affirmative action policies and goals should under go
interim evaluation by the organization and necessary
revisions made.


There should not be any " Quota " systems
set in terms of the number of minorities hired, promoted,
or given additional training.



A measurable merit system based solely on job performance
abilities or potential should be utilized in the selection
training and hiring of minorities, based on organizational
manpower needs.


The stability and effectiveness of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission could be greatly enhanced by
the elimination of some fundamental weaknesses and
inadequacies in civil rights compliance, thereby making
affirmative action programs burgeoning catalyst in
the elimination of discrimination and discriminatory
practices in other areas. Some of these fundamental
weaknesses are:


CONCERNING BLACKS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY


Inadequate staff and other resources to conduct civil
rights enforcement

activities with maximum effectiveness.


Lack of authority and subordinate status of agency civil
rights officials.


Failure to define civil rights goals with sufficient
specificity or breadth.


Failure to coordinate civil rights and substantive programs.


Undue emphasis on voluntary compliance and failure to
make sufficient use of available sanctions to enforce
civil rights laws.


Failure to provide adequate coordination and direction
to agencies having common civil rights responsibilities.


Failure to collect and utilize racial and ethnic data
in planning and evaluating progress toward goals.


CONCLUSION


Major efforts have been made to eliminate the injust
and unfair practice of discrimination. To date full
realizations of these efforts are negligible. As our
society marches into the twenty first century, it regretfully
carries with it, some of the archaic beliefs and practices
for which we as a nation, condemn other nations for.
Through conjecture, prejudice and real or imaged threats,
a valuable resource to our nation , human resources,
has been systematically and consistently shut out.


Armed with an areas of laws, orders, and mandates, the
Government has failed to make a major impact or developed
a mechanism whereby, it can secure the rights of liberty,
justice and equality to a portion of its citizens.
America cannot be left to blunder into the future,
and attack with iconoclastic views the world of those
around her. In acknowledging and even advancing the
rights of its " minorities, " America will
be securing " its own rights."


The problems of hostile bureaucracies that view civil
rights as a threat to their own programs and prerogative
coupled with the problems of inadequate or misordered
priorities, cannot be solved through mandatory sanctions
or harsh enforcement mechanisms. The problem of discrimination
lies deep within our social structure. It has its foundation
in the very core of society and is treated as an embellishment
for others to pattern after.


Equal employment and affirmative action programs are
just small beginnings through which the compliance
of and initiation of other efforts with a similar purpose
can help to impede our rush toward economic and social
genocide.

Alan L. Joplin