Today, the United States stands at a critical crossroad with regard to civil rights; the choice is between an officially colorblind society and a government-supported, race-conscious one. The purpose of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments was to end a discriminatory system and to erect in its place a regime of race neutrality. In 1896, the…

The Reagan Administration believes in equal employment opportunity, which requires that every individual receive an equal opportunity for employment on strength of individual merit. Any compromise, such as racially preferential hirings, promotions, or terminations, whether from benign or pernicious motives, cannot be fairly described as…

A recent ruling in the Baby Jane Doe case held that as parents are ultimately responsible for a child, and as in this case, the parents were not recipients of Federal assistance, neither they nor the hospital following their instructions to withhold treatment from their handicapped newborn are subject to Federal provisions about discrimination on…

The Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice, comments on the state of disability policy in the United States as reflected in current laws and regulations. Interagency efforts within government are seeking to identify gaps in coverage, as well as duplications and overlap, in existing federal…