DOCUMENT RESUME ED 359 289 UD 029 316 TITLE Changing Perspectives on Civil Rights. United States Commission on Civil Rights Forum (Nashville, Tennessee, December 8-9, 1988). INSTITUTION Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 90 NOTE 207p.; For the proceedings of the September 1988 forum, see UD 026 315. AVAILABLE FROMU.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Collected Works Conference Proceedings (021) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Asian Americans; Blacks; *Civil Rights; Demography; Dropout Rate; Economically Disadvantaged; *Economic Development; Elementary Secondary Education; *Equal Education; *Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Higher Education; Hispanic Americans; *Minority Groups; Racial Relations; *Role of Education; Social Change IDENTIFIERS Demographic Projections; Diversity (Student); Testimony ABSTRACT A subcommittee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission heard testimony on social changes in progress and the future of civil rights, in the second in a series of forums. Thepurpose of the forum was to gather information about equal opportunities for minorities in education and economic development. Representatives from the Federal Government, public schools, the media, corporations, researchgroups, and non-profit organizations participated. Many participants pointed to the critical role education will play in preparing the next generation of Americans, especially the poor who are disproportionately minorities, to take full advantage of the opportunities in a changing society. Some participants indicated that an emphasis on education will be particularly important in view of the high dropout rates and the declining college participationrates of Blacks and Hispanics. Participants also discussed changes that have occurred in race relations over the past two decades, the importance of economic development for creating opportunities for minorities, and corporate and non-profit initiatives thatmay help to create opportunities for minorities. The publication offersa summary of the 2-day forum and a transcript of the five panel discussions. (JB) ********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best thatcan be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** CHANGING PERSPECTIVESON CIVIL RIGHTS U S DEPARTMENT OPEDUCATION and tmprovement ()Ike d Eaucanonsi Reseanzn INFORMATION EDUCASIONAL RESOURCES CENTER 'ERIC) 10><:s clocurneni nas neenrePrOduced aS e.veo nom tne perso.or orpsn,tanon ono.nahnp been Made to unprove C P.4..0, ChangeS have reproducnon cuanty po.nisot v.ew or ornmonsstatedth,SdoCu represent on.c.a, men' do not necessarily OE RI pos.non or poncy United States Commission on Civil Rights Forum Held in Nashville, Tennessee December 8-9, 1988 BEST COPY AVAitABLE n9 U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS TheU.S.CommissiononCivilRightsisanindependent, bipartisan agency firstestablished by Congress in1957 and reestablished in 1983.It is directed to: *Investigate complaints alleging that citizens are being deprived of their right to vote by reason of their race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin,or by reason of fraudulent practices; Study and collect information concerning legal developments constituting discrimination or a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution because of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin,or in the administration of justice; Appraise Federal laws and policies with respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws becauseof race, coi or, religion,sex,age,handicap,ornationalorigin,orin:he administration of justice; Serve as a national clearinghouse for information in respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin; Submit reports, findings, and recommendations to the President and Congress. MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION William B. Allen, Chairman Murray Friedman, Vice Chairman Mary Frances Berry Esther G. Buckley Sherwin T.S. Chan Robert A. Destro Francis S. Guess Blandina Cardenas Ramirez Melvin L. Jenkins, Acting Staff Director 3 BEST COPYAVAILABLE CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON CIVIL RIGHTS United States Commission on Civil Rights Forum Held in Nashville, Tennessee December 8-9,1988 4 PREFACE Since its inception, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has sought to be the Nation's conscience on issues related to intergroup relations and equal opportunity.In this role, the Commission has taken the lead in advocating Federal policies that protect the civil rights of all Americans. In 1983 the Commission was reconstituted, and a new and larger board of Commissioners was appointed.Over the past few years, the Commissioners have been debating how the Commission should approach civil rights issues in the future, considering among other things the demographic changes in the United States. Some of the questions of interest to the Commis- sioners include:Where will the focus of civil rights be in the future?Will the issues be the same as in the past?Will demographic changes in society bring new issues to the forefront or prompt a redirection in civil rights policy? To assess the range of opinions about the future of civil rights in this country, the Commissioners established a subcommittee to investigate how society may be changing and the implications of the changes for equal opportunity for all Americans.The subcommittee, whose members are Commissioners Murray Friedman, Robert Destro, Esther Buckley, and Francis Guess,* planned a series of forums to hear the perspectives of government officials and the public on how changing demographics may affect civil rights issues and policies and the role of government, corporations, and nonprofit organizations in promoting equal opportunity. At the first forum, held in Los Angeles on September 8-9, 1988, participants addressed the question of how the changing demographic composition of the American population is likely to affect the civil rights issues of the future.The second forum, held in Nashville on December 8-9, 1988, focused on equal opportunity in education and employment.This publication is comprised of a summary of the discussion at the Nashville forum and a transcript of the forum. Commissioner Guess was initially a member of the subcommittee but subsequently resigned when the subcommittee held a telephone conference notifying him. iii CONTENTS Summary Reflections of the News Media 1 Breaking the Barriers:Education and Skills Development 4 Expanding Opportunities: Business Development 9 Corporate Initiatives 12 Neighborhood and Nonprofit Initiatives 14 Forum. Transcript Reflections of the News Media Statement of Fred Graham, Commentator, WKRNTV, Na;hville, Tennessee 23 Statement of Rene:: Hampton, Reporter, Nashville Banner, Nashville, Tennessee 27 Statement of Estella Herrera, Reporter, La Opinion, Los Angeles, California 30 Statement of Bill Snider, Reporter, Education Week, Washington, D.C. 36 Breaking the Barriers:Education and Skills Development Statement of Diane Weinstein, Acting General Counsel, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 50 Statement of Melvin Smoak, Assistant Superintendent, Orangeburg School District No. 5, Orangeburg, South Carolina 55 Statement of Sally Kilgore, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 59 Statement of William Green, Director, Ivy Leaf Middle School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 64 Expanding Opportunities:Business Development Statement of Timothy Bates, Professor of Economics, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 81 Statement of Linda Chavez, President, Equal Opportunity Foundation, Washington, D.0 87 iv 6 Statement of Edward Hoffman, EDH & Associates, Escondido, California 91 Statement of Alfred Hui, Chief Executive Officer and President, Western International Insurance Company, Huntington Beach, California 98 Open Session Statement of Owen Smaw, North Carolina State Bar 120 Statement of Joel Binkley, League for Hearing Impaired, Nashville, Tennessee 121 Statement of Leo Gray, Chairman, Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Nashville, Tennessee 123 Statement of Tom Green, Nashville Chapter, National Conference of Christians and Jews, Nashville, Tennessee 125 Corporate Initiatives Statement of R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., Executive Director, American Institute for Managing Diversity, Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia 129 Statement of Ben Rechter, President, Rogers Investment Group, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee 137 Neighborhood and Nonprofit Initiatives Statement of Clint Bolick, Director, Landmark Legal Foundation Center for Civil Rights, Washington, D.C. 156 Statement of Kevin McGruder, Program Director, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, New York, New York 163 Statement of Landon H. Lewis, Jr., Vice President, Urban League of Greater New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 168 Statement of Pat Pierce, Director, Opportunity Development Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 170 Statement of William "Sonny" Walker, Vice President, National Alliance of Business, Atlanta, Georgia 176 Statement of Lee Walker, New Coalition for Economic and Social Change, Chicago, Illinois 179 Summary On December 8-9,1988, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held the second of a series of forums on "Changing Perspectives on Civil Rights." The purpose of the forum, which was held in Nashville, Tennessee, was to gather information about equal