Key Documents

• Initial Report of the United States of America to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
  Issued in September 2000, this Report was prepared in compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, entered into force for the United States on November 20, 1994. The Report was prepared by the U.S. Departments of State and Justice, with extensive input from the White House, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and other Executive Branch departments and agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations and concerned individuals. The web site includes official statements, a table of contents and the full text of the report in PDF.
• America Becoming: Racial Trends and Their Consequences. vol. 1 and vol. 2
  Released in 2001 by the National Research Council of the National Academies, this two-volume report (each volume over 500 pages) analyses the wide-ranging issues in race relations. The table of contents includes such topics as the changing meaning of race; demographic and social trends for Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans; race and ethnicity in the labor market and the criminal justice system, and changing racial attitudes. A free, browsable, nonproprietary, fully and deeply searchable version of the publication is available in Open Book format at the National Academy Press site.
• Declaration of Independence (1776)
  A transcription of the complete text can be viewed here at the U.S. National Archives site as well as background articles.
• Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
  See also an overview of the history and ramifications of the Proclamation from the U.S. National Archives' publication, Prologue, Summer 1993
• Constitution of the United States of America (1789)
• "Civil War Amendments" to the U.S. Constitution:
  • 13th Amendment (1865)
    abolished slavery
    
  • 14th Amendment (1868)
    equal protection clause
    
  • 15th Amendment (1870)
    voting rights

Archived Key Documents

• One America in the 21st Century: Forging a New Future, Final Report by the Advisory Board to the President's Initiative on Race, 18 September 1998
• Promising Practices - - The President's Initiative on Race, Details on over 300 organizations promoting reconciliation in communities across the United States. The reference guide, Pathways to One America in the 21st Century , offers a selection of these effective programs.
• One America Dialogue Guide
• Changing America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being by Race and Hispanic Origin, Prepared by the Council of Economic Advisors for the President's Initiative on Race, 18 September 1998