NEW OPPORTUNITIES: CIVIL RIGHTS AT A CROSSROADS (1993)

Examines a broad range of civil rights issues and calls upon the Clinton Administration to revitalize the enforcement machinery in the Department of Justice and other federal agencies charged with enforcing the anti-discrimination laws. Includes a report and specific recommendations of the Commission as well as a series of comprehensive working papers by leading civil rights experts.

The topics addressed include housing, education, employment, voting rights, health, race and the death penalty, civil rights goals of the Latino and Asian communities, revitalizing the Legal Services Corporation and the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, judicial nominations, and hate crimes.

The Commission's recommendations call for presidential leadership in addressing the escalating problems of inter-group tensions and urge the new president to make civil rights a national priority again. Among the policy changes suggested by the Commission are reinstating the use of affirmative remedies and voluntary affirmative action, encouraging the use of the "disparate impact" standard in litigation, targeting civil rights polices to protect the economically disadvantaged, and creating programs that provide access to equal opportunities.