Remarks to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Ralph Boyd, the new assistant attorney general heading the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, says the Bush administration has developed a set of broad, comprehensive policies, programs and initiatives that will significantly advance the cause of civil rights in the 21st century.

Boyd told a meeting of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) August 3 in Geneva that voting rights reform is one of the administration's first and foremost civil rights priorities.

He said the administration also is committed to eliminating the practice of racial profiling, it will emphasize the enforcement of fair housing laws, it will protect new immigrants to America by vigorously prosecuting those who exploit their vulnerability, and it will establish a New Freedom Initiative to help increase access for Americans with disabilities to innovative new technologies.

Following is the text of Boyd's remarks:

Introduction

I am Ralph Boyd, Jr., Assistant Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice, in charge of the Civil Rights Division. I am pleased to be joined today by my friend and distinguished colleague, Michael Parmly, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. As the Committee is aware, I was sworn in as Assistant Attorney General just this past Monday. Appearing here today is one of my first official actions - it is a profoundly important one and I am deeply honored to be called upon to do it.

As you know, the United States ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1994. We strongly agree with this Committee that the elimination of racial discrimination remains a significant and compelling moral and legal imperative for our nation and others around the world.

We likewise greatly respect and appreciate the hard work in which each of you who sits on this Committee is engaged. Assessing nations' efforts to advance the goal of achieving a color-blind society and holding nations accountable to their commitment to eliminating racial discrimination, and we recognize and applaud the time and effort you invest in this important undertaking.

Theme of this statement

As I speak to you today, we approach the 38th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I have a dream" speech. Dr. King delivered that inspiring address at the conclusion of the March on Washington in August 1963, a seminal event in the campaign for racial justice in America. He spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a memorial dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President who ended slavery and restored our torn union. This memorial symbolizes our nation's historic struggle for racial equality, a struggle that many Americans and visitors to America are reminded of daily when they pass by the memorial and move about our nation's capital.

During his 1963 speech, Dr. King shared his dream that "one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'" In his dream, Dr. King envisioned the day when his four children would "live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Although Dr. King has been gone for more than 30 years, his dream remains a vital, necessary, and enduring part of our collective vision of America. It is a plain and simple - and yet eloquent and powerful - statement, reflecting the hope we Americans have for our nation. It expresses what life should be like for all people regardless of whether they are of African, Hispanic, Asian or other descent, no matter what their color or place of origin.

It is also a dream that, with the passing of time and the persistent efforts of so many committed people in America, is becoming a concrete reality:

The 1940 Census showed that six out of ten African-American women were household employees, while a large majority of African-American men worked as unskilled laborers, sharecroppers, or domestic servants. In contrast, today African-Americans - as well as people of other ethnic groups - serve in significant numbers at the highest levels of government, police our communities in partnership with their constituents, teach in our nation's most prestigious colleges and universities, heal the sick, manage large corporations, and report the news to our fellow citizens.

In 1940, there were only 300 African-American engineers in all of America; today, there are more than 60,000.

In 1940, there were less than 8,000 black nurses; today there are over 165,000.

In 1940, there were barely 4,000 African-American physicians; today there are more than 20,000.

In 1940, there were only 620 African-Americans who were employed as reporters, editors or authors; now there are over 20,000.

In 1940, there was not a single black law enforcement officer in the five "Deep South" states, even though nearly 5 million African-Americans called these states their home. Today, there are thousands of African-American policemen in those states. Included among their ranks are many chiefs of police and other senior police officials.

There are now nearly 450,000 African-American elementary and secondary-school teachers in our country, and nearly 150,000 black social workers.

And it comes as no surprise that with better jobs comes meaningfully higher family incomes. For example, in 1940, a staggering 87 percent of black families in America lived below the poverty line. Today, approximately 75 percent now live above poverty. Although this is a significant and compelling turnabout, we recognize that we still have serious work to do in our efforts to achieve equality of economic opportunity in America.

The American political landscape likewise has changed dramatically over the past several decades. In 1968, there were only 3 black mayors in the entire Southern part of our country; by 1996, there were 290. As late as 1970, there were no African-Americans holding elective office in state government in Alabama, Arkansas, or South Carolina. In four other states - Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina - there was only one black member of the state legislature. By 1993, those states had a total of 312 black state legislators, and were represented by 16 African-Americans in the United States Congress. Between 1967 and 1993, African-Americans won mayoral elections in 87 cities with populations of 50,000 or more. Two-thirds of those were elected in cities in which blacks comprise a minority of the voter eligible population.

Over the last 40 years, civil rights in America have undergone a transformation. In a very real sense we have progressed from aspiration to expectation. More than half of our population today has never lived in an America without the protection of major civil rights laws, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These and other important federal civil rights laws are intended to protect Americans of all races from racial discrimination perpetuated not only by government, but also by individuals and private parties, particularly in such areas as employment, education, public accommodations, voting, housing, lending, and contracting.

Dr. King looked forward to the day when, as he described it, "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers" and say "Free at last." Although we still have important work to do, our schools are largely desegregated, and blacks attend college at nearly six times the rate they did in 1960.

Thirty-four years ago, our Supreme Court struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Once upon a time, an African-American male could not even be seen with a Caucasian female without fearing for his life. Today, interracial couples flourish throughout the land. Our Census Bureau just recently reported over 3 million interracial couples in the United States. We are becoming a truly blended society. In fact, my wife and I preside over just such a blended family, a family which includes three birth children and two adopted African-American children. I am happy to say that we are no longer that unusual. We are Americans, and my family looks - in many respects - like America.

This record of improvement and increasing equality of opportunity has not gone unnoticed. A recent Washington Post poll indicates that African-American parents are even more optimistic than parents of other ethnicities that their children will enjoy an even higher standard of living than they do. These numbers are a healthy sign of progress and of the expectations that Americans have that their civil rights will be protected, and that, over time, hard work can pay off, for people of all races.

In sum, there is considerable good news emanating from the century-old struggle of the United States against racism and bigotry. Our record of protecting civil rights and fighting discrimination is an increasingly strong one, and one that those of us who are pledged to uphold and enforce our nation's civil rights laws are committed to improving even more.

Of course, our nation can do better. The fight to eradicate racism requires continued and constant vigilance. We continue our fight to achieve racial equality in both educational opportunity and achievement, in access to meaningful economic opportunities, and also in access to needed social and health care services. As I said, we can do better, and we will do better. This Administration, this President, and those whom he has enlisted to help him in this effort are fully engaged and fully committed to this endeavor.

Our purpose today is to summarize for the Committee the legislative, judicial and administrative measures that are already in place in the United States, and that are intended to advance the goal of achieving a racially and ethnically integrated society that provides equal, meaningful opportunities for all of our people. I will also outline for the Committee some of the steps that the United States will undertake over the course of the next several years to further ensure that all people in America are, in the words of Article 2(2) of the Convention, guaranteed the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We also look forward to answering the Committee's questions, and, later, to receiving the Committee's recommendations for further improvements in our country's civil rights record.

Our civil rights infrastructure

The United States began to take serious steps to fight racial injustice in the middle of the last century. Since that time, we have embarked on a steadily-increasing effort to eradicate discrimination on the basis of race. In many important respects, the civil rights laws and social programs we have adopted have served as models throughout the world.

All three branches of the United States government have been actively involved in what can fairly be characterized as a comprehensive and thorough effort to attack racism and its legacies. The legislative branch - the United States Congress - has enacted far-reaching civil rights laws. In 1964, the Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination in public accommodations, employment and education. That Act was among the most significant pieces of legislation ever enacted in American history. It has had a wide-ranging impact on our society, and has served as a model for many subsequent civil rights statutes.

The following year, the landmark Voting Rights Act was enacted. This seminal legislation prohibits discrimination by public officials in the voting process. The Voting Rights Act has - along with voter registration campaigns - accelerated the participation of African-Americans in the American political and electoral processes. This is especially true in many of our southern states, where increased minority participation in the political process has led to dramatic changes in our nation's political institutions.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 laid the groundwork and provided a framework for many other civil rights statutes. Americans are now assured that, in nearly every significant aspect of their lives, laws exist to protect against discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, whether it involves deciding where to live, financing a home, obtaining credit, getting a job, securing an education, or traveling anywhere in America.

Moreover, the United States Congress has passed significant additional legislation to achieve even greater protection of civil rights for all Americans. To cite just a few examples, I note the following:

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, and access to government services;

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects people who are 40 years of age or older from adverse job actions against them because of their age;

The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act protects people who are in government nursing homes or prisons;

The Immigration Reform and Control Act prohibits employment discrimination against certain categories of immigrants and refugees; and,

The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act protects students with disabilities in educational settings.

In sum, the legislative branch of the United States Government has constructed a comprehensive and aggressive statutory framework for protecting the civil rights of all people in America.

The executive branch of the United States government is actively involved in enforcing these laws. The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, which I now head, is one of six litigating divisions in the Department of Justice. This Division is responsible for enforcing many of these civil rights laws. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission likewise plays a critical role in this effort; its more than 2,500 employees are charged with ensuring that private employers abide by federal nondiscrimination laws. Since its founding, the EEOC has obtained over $2.2 billion in monetary relief for parties bringing discrimination charges against their employers.

In addition, every federal agency, and most state agencies, now have equal employment opportunity offices to ensure that the agency does not discriminate and complies with applicable federal and state anti-discrimination laws. Virtually all federal agencies that provide federal financial assistance have civil rights compliance offices that are responsible for ensuring that recipients of federal financial assistance do not engage in unlawful discrimination. States also have civil rights agencies that enforce the extensive nondiscrimination laws enacted by their respective state legislatures. In addition, many cities and other local government entities have local civil rights ordinances and enforcement personnel to ensure that those laws are enforced.

In summary, the legislative branch's efforts to craft comprehensive civil rights laws have been matched by the executive branch's efforts to create structures that can, should, and will effectively enforce these laws. Over ten thousand federal, state and local employees actively enforce civil rights laws in the United States.

Finally, the judicial branch has played an independent and equally important role in combating racial discrimination in America. In 1954, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), banning state-sponsored racial segregation in public education. This historic decision signaled the emergence of the contemporary civil rights movement in our country. The Supreme Court continues to play a leading role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against discrimination. Under our Constitution, government must make every effort to implement policies and programs that treat every American fairly, without regard to race or ethnicity.

As we emphasize and analyze all of the actions taken by the United States government, we recognize that these significant civil rights laws are only possible because Americans have made it abundantly clear that they want our nation to live up to its stated ideals of equal opportunity for all. The change in attitudes and tone of our culture regarding matters of racial justice has been influenced in meaningful and constructive ways by churches, synagogues, temples and mosques, where moral teachings increasingly emphasize the fair and just treatment of all people. Civil rights organizations and other NGOs also have played significant roles in our country's ongoing struggle against racism and other insidious forms of injustice.

Where we still need to make progress.

Notwithstanding this progress, there obviously are areas where we must redouble our efforts.

Racial discrimination continues to be a problem that must be confronted in our country. Race is too often a factor in decisions related to whether to rent a home to a person of another racial or ethnic group, whether to hire an applicant for a job, and whether to stop and question a person suspected of committing a crime. As U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, my job is to help lead the fight against such discrimination, and I pledge to do so vigorously.

Moreover, while there have been dramatic gains in the education levels achieved by racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, there are still problems that we must address. Today, nearly 70 percent of inner-city fourth graders are unable to read at a basic reading level, according to national tests. As of 1999, only 56% of Hispanics graduated from high school. Although almost one-half of African-Americans in their early twenties have at one time been enrolled in college, only 1 out of 7 actually graduates. More than 50,000 Native American children attend schools managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an increase of 25 percent since 1987. Although more Native American children are now attending BIA schools, they often are doing so in physical environments that are among the worst in our nation. Clearly, we have real work to do on these issues if we are to ensure that all of America's children have equal and meaningful access to an excellent education. Education is essential for people to be able to participate fully in our society, and to enjoy the benefits of that participation.

Meaningful gaps in income between racial and ethnic groups in America stubbornly persist, and disparities in the relative health of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds continue to be a reality of our nation's public health profile. Furthermore, communities in which a majority of the residents are racial or ethnic minorities also continue to be victimized by crime at a disproportionate rate.

The United States' agenda

Any vision of a fair and just society requires that these gaps between racial and ethnic groups be addressed effectively, and the United States is determined to do so. I want to outline for the Committee some of the significant steps the United States intends to undertake over the course of the next several years to further ensure that all of our people are, in the words of Article 2(2) of the Convention, guaranteed the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Bush Administration has developed a set of broad, comprehensive policies, programs, and initiatives that will significantly advance the cause of civil rights in the 21st century.

The first major initiative focuses on education. If we are to live in a society where every person is truly afforded a real opportunity to fulfill his or her potential, we cannot overlook the fundamental importance of primary and secondary education. All too often our educational system practices what President Bush has described as the soft bigotry of low expectations. America's schools must push all of our children to succeed and to reach their God-given potential no matter what their ethnicity. We must also ensure that they have the resources to do so, and that those resources are being used effectively.

President Bush has made dramatic reform of the federal role in educating our youth a top priority. He has proposed cooperative federal, state and local efforts to create systems of accountability that address persistent educational and opportunity gaps among students of different races, ethnicities and national origins. The Administration likewise will work to: (1) track improvement in the educational performance of children from disadvantaged groups; (2) target resources more effectively so that they actually reach students in greatest need; (3) fund community-school partnerships to keep schools open after school and during summers as safe havens for enhanced learning; and (4) emphasize programs directed at improving skills that will maximize opportunities for employment in today's competitive job markets, especially in technology industries that demand high levels of technical competence, and sound oral and written communication skills. Simply put, the President is determined to pursue education strategies that will ensure that no child will be left behind.

Second, President Bush will emphasize support for faith-based and community-based groups to serve disadvantaged people throughout our country. Across America today, private religious and community organizations already are doing some of the most important work in our country, providing for and uplifting people in need through a variety of services, which involve, for example, feeding the hungry, mentoring at-risk youth, and educating children with learning disabilities. These efforts often are hampered unwittingly by government regulations or a lack of resources. The Bush Administration is determined to support these community and faith-based groups, which, despite very limited resources, already are providing needed services to those who are most in need, and in doing so are addressing many of the pressing concerns facing disadvantaged populations in America today.

The Bush Administration is also focusing on revitalizing America's economic base and creating increased economic opportunities for all Americans. The President has already signed legislation that will significantly reduce the tax burden on working people and encourage savings. The Administration is also focusing its attention on proposals to create and expand businesses dedicated to improving economic conditions in under-served areas and disadvantaged communities. To foster this type of economic activity, access to capital must be significantly improved. The Administration is studying ways to promote access through community development banks and other similar measures.

While these broad policies and programs are critical, the vigorous protection of the civil rights of all people is equally essential to eliminating racial discrimination and its lingering effects. Therefore, one of the first and foremost civil rights priorities of this Administration is voting rights reform. The well-publicized voting irregularities that took place in many of our states during the 2000 elections have gained international attention. The Attorney General of the United States has announced a major new voting rights initiative. It has two principal objectives: (1) preventing abuses of voting rights by eliminating barriers to voting before elections are held; and (2) prosecuting individuals or institutions who disenfranchise would-be voters by unlawfully preventing them from exercising this important franchise, or by engaging in outright voting fraud. The Attorney General and I will appoint a new Senior Counsel for Voting Rights. This person will work with state and local elections officials on voting reform efforts. The new Senior Counsel will: examine recent elections to identify problems and determine best practices; communicate those practices as well as the Department of Justice's experience in this area to state and local officials; and generally act as a clearinghouse for voting reform issues. The Attorney General has also committed greater resources to ensure the availability and use of federal election monitors and election observers where necessary.

Recognizing that even the most laudable prevention efforts may not always be enough to insure fairness, the Department is fully committed to prosecuting vigorously allegations that any American has been excluded unlawfully from polling places, or otherwise unlawfully prevented from voting. To assist in this effort, the Attorney General has directed a 22 percent increase in the budget for the Voting Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division, so that additional civil rights division attorneys can be added to this important enforcement priority.

Second, the Bush Administration is committed to eliminating the practice of racial profiling. For too long, racial and ethnic minorities in America have - at times - been subjected to the unfairness and illegality of racial profiling. As a nation, we simply cannot allow people to be subjected to different treatment because of their race. The President has declared that racial profiling is morally wrong and unlawful, and must therefore be ended; the Attorney General has denounced it as unconstitutional and inconsistent with our law. The Attorney General personally is coordinating efforts throughout the United States government to develop specific recommendations for eliminating any racial profiling practices. The efforts of the President and the Attorney General have already begun to yield results, as police departments and associations already have begun to examine their practices and undertake efforts to improve policing strategies and eliminate racial profiling.

Third, the Administration will also emphasize the enforcement of our fair housing laws. When members of racial and ethnic minority groups seek to rent apartments, buy new homes, or secure mortgages or mortgage insurance, they are entitled, morally and legally, to fair and equal treatment. The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice are committed to vigorously enforcing and aggressively litigating fair housing cases where necessary to insure fair treatment.

Fourth, the Administration will protect new immigrants to America by vigorously prosecuting those who exploit their vulnerability. America becomes home to hundreds of thousands of new immigrants every year from virtually every part of the globe. An unacceptably high number of newcomers to America suffer at the hands of unscrupulous employers who pay sub-minimum wages or force employees to work in unsafe conditions. These problems are especially pronounced among those who come to our country without legal authorization.

The problem of trafficking in persons is especially severe. Estimates indicate that 50,000 persons, primarily minority women and children, are trafficked into the United States each year. These vulnerable people are subjected to modern-day slavery and often forced to work against their will in the sex trade. The Attorney General has made it a priority to stop the trafficking of human beings. As Assistant Attorney General and head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, I will co-chair an interagency task force responsible for leading this effort. Trafficking in persons is an international problem, one which the Department of Justice and the Department of State stand ready to work with other governments to address.

Simply put, we need to create a more welcoming America - for Hispanics, Asians and other immigrants to America. The Administration is working hard to make this a reality. In any society, new arrivals are sometimes - or even often - treated with suspicion and resentment. That should not be a feature of our society, and President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft are committed to ensuring that it is not. For example, the President and the Attorney General are committed to reforming our Immigration and Naturalization Service. This bureaucracy is often described as dysfunctional. When it is, new immigrants to American endure the burden and feel the brunt of its failures. For those seeking to enter our country legally, the process can be protracted and complex. President Bush is working with Congress to develop a plan to dramatically restructure the Immigration and Naturalization Service so that all immigrants and would-be immigrants are treated with respect, dignity, and - most importantly - fairness.

The United States government also has engaged in historic negotiations with Mexico to ensure that people coming across our southern border illegally are treated humanely. President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox have established a number of critically important initiatives, and cabinet members from both governments are meeting regularly to implement these new policies and programs.

The final civil rights policy initiative I want to share with you today is President Bush's New Freedom Initiative. The New Freedom Initiative is a comprehensive set of proposals designed to help increase access for Americans with disabilities to innovative new technologies that will facilitate their more full and active participation in our society, expand their educational opportunities, better integrate them into the workforce, and promote full access to, and involvement in, community life. The New Freedom Initiative builds on the successes of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. The President already has signed an executive order directing that Cabinet officials provide community-based services for people with disabilities, who currently are only able to receive needed services in an institution setting. The Department of Housing and Urban Development also is planning to launch a disabilities homeownership project. In addition, President Bush has asked Congress for $8.4 billion for special education programs, $100 million in competitive matching grants to promote access to alternative transportation methods for people with disabilities, and $40 million in federal matching funds to states to finance low-interest loans to help people with disabilities to purchase needed assistive technologies.

Conclusion

I began by referring to Dr. King's dream. As a nation, and as individuals, we have made demonstrable progress towards realizing that dream since Dr. King's death. However, we are not satisfied that we have fulfilled our goal of achieving racial justice, which Dr. King's dream represents. Therefore, this Administration and its responsible officials are committed to redoubling the effort to eliminate all discrimination - whether it is based on race, ethnicity, disability, or the like, and whether intentional or simply a consequence of the soft bigotry of low expectations. The United States government cannot, however, accomplish this alone. We must call upon our citizens, our businesses, our institutions of higher learning, our places of worship, and indeed, all people of good faith, to be part of this effort. Our record is a strong one, but there is still more work to be done. We recognize this, and it is in this spirit that we look forward to hearing the Committee's ideas and thoughts and considering your recommendations as to how the United States can improve its civil rights record as we implement our country's civil rights agenda for the new century - one which holds real promise for the advancement of the human rights of all Americans.

Mr. Chairman, and members of the Committee, thank you. I look forward to your questions.