TO KNOW OR Collection and Use of Racial A Report, of the United States. Civil Rights. FEBRUARY 1973 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402-Price $1.50 Stock Number 0500-00084 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL The President The President of the Senate The Speaker of the House of Representatives U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Sirs: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights presents this report to you pursuant to Public Law 85-315, as amended. Continuing the Commission's examination of the Federal civil rights enforcement effort, this report evaluates the current capabilities of Federal Agencies for measuring the extent to which minorities receive the benefits of Federal domestic assistance programs. It also describes the parameters for creating a data collection system necessary for such measurements. The Commission based its findings on information gathered from six Federal Agencies which administer many of the largest programs of Federal domestic assistance: the Departments of Agriculture; Health, Education, and Welfare; Housing and Urban Development; Labor; Transportation; and the Veterans Administration and from two Agencies with special statistical responsibilities, the Office of Management and Budget and the Bureau of the Census. From this and from additional information supplied by minority group organizations, the Commission ascertained that the scant racial and ethnic data collected by Federal Agencies are insufficient to determine to what degree Federal benefits are reaching minority groups on an equitable basis. This deficiency has created a vacuum in which it becomes impossible to determine if program benefit distribution is free from discriminatory practices. It is apparent to the Commission that denial of equal opportunity in Federal assistance programs will continue as long as Agencies persist in basing their confidence in the nondiscriminatory character of their programs on ad hoc and even haphazard observations. This attitude, stemming from limited knowledge of programs and lack of complaints, is illusory since it contrasts with the harsh facts of institutionalized biases against minorities. The time has long passed when a disregard for racial and ethnic origin can substitute for exact figures and facts. A system of racial and ethnic data collection must be introduced to assess the adequacy of Federal efforts in providing assistance to minorities by comparing the race and ethnic origin of Fed eral program beneficiaries with those of persons intended by law to receive such benefits. On the basis of that evaluation, Federal Agencies must set realistic and timely goals for improved program performance, sensitive to the unique needs of every minority group. We urge your consideration of the facts presented and ask your leadership in developing this new dimension to eliminate discrimination in Federal domestic assistance programs. Respectfully yours, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Chairman Stephen Horn, Vice Chairman Frankie M. Freeman Maurice B. Mitchell Robert S. Rankin Manuel Ruiz, Jr. John A. Buggs, Staff Director |