THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION

WHEREAS, the Reagan administration has demonstrated an insensitivity and hostility to the condition of minorities through its civil rights and economic policies such as

• its support of tax exempt status for segregated schools as in the case of Bob Jones University

• its reluctance to vigorously enforce existing civil rights laws and regulations

• its appointment of persons who do not believe in the mission of the various civil rights enforcement agencies

• the elimination and cutback of social programs which disproportionately harm minorities

• the pursuit of tax policies which burden the poor and the middle class; and

WHEREAS, in the context of these policies the president's move to change the composition of the Civil Rights Commission undermined the commission's credibility and diminished its effectiveness as an independent agency charged with evaluating and monitoring federal programs; and

WHEREAS, the Civil Rights Commission has long served as a watchdog of the federal government and has been respected as a critic of administrations of both political parties; and

WHEREAS, the Congress has recognized the importance of maintaining the commission's independence by the passage of new legislation preserving its bipartisan nature, protecting commission members from arbitrary dismissal by the chief executive, and creating a "quasi-independent" institution by authorizing congressional as well as presidential appointments to the commission; and

WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers has a deep commitment to long held civil rights policies through resolutions passed over the years which say that:

• the AFT has always been dedicated to the objective of building a society where people of all colors, races and religious creeds could live together in harmony"

• "the AFT recognized that there has been a long history of racial discrimination in this country that has prevented minorities from reaching their full potential"

• "the expansion of job opportunities and extension of educational benefits to all, regardless of race or economic resources, are basic affirmative action strategies to which the AFT has long been committed"

• "the AFT rejects quota policies which violate the very meaning of `equal protection' by prescribing remedies for discrimination which are in themselves discriminatory;" and

WHEREAS, the AFT believes that the civil rights agenda for this country is by no means complete and that the Civil Rights Commission and the federal government have a strong role in seeing to it that the rights of minorities are protected and extended:

RESOLVED, the AFT supports the commission's opposition to quotas and violation of seniority rights, but those who oppose quotas cannot stop there.  They have a moral and legal obligation to strongly support civil rights and affirmative action by all other means. We urge the newly constituted Civil Rights Commission to take a firm and independent stand against the repressive civil rights positions of the Reagan administration and to be as strong in the positions as in its approach to quotas; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT reaffirms its commitment to its traditional positions and calls upon this ad­ministration and the Civil Rights Commission to adhere to these same policies and to strive to find ways to develop and carry out programs to enhance the civil rights of our nation's minorities.