"Affirmative action" is the term typically used to refer to two contrasting values: the value of equal opportunity and the value of equal results. The Justice Department under the Reagan Administration, however, draws a clear distinction between the two, and is committed to the "original" meaning of affirmative action. That is,…

In these remarks, William Bradford Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, discusses American civil rights in the light of past and present Federal policy. A review of constitutional provisions, legislation, and court litigation reveals how policy has variously provided for equality and perpetuated…