New ACLU Report Details Systemic Racial Discrimination in America

by Mike Liu
12/11/07

This is largely based from an ACLU press release

The American Civil Liberties Union Dec. 10th released a comprehensive analysis of the pervasive institutionalized, systemic and structural racism in America. The report is a response to the U.S. report to the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) released earlier this year. The ACLU called the U.S. report a "whitewash."

The U.S. government submitted its report in April to the CERD committee, an independent group of internationally recognized human rights experts that oversees compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, a treaty signed and ratified by the U.S. in 1994. All levels of the U.S. government are obligated to comply with the treaty's provisions.

Based on information provided by the ACLU affiliates in more than 20 states, the ACLU said, "The U.S. report failed miserably in accurately characterizing the state of race relations and intolerance in this country."

The report details the setbacks in the promotion of racial and ethnic equality, including the government's attack on affirmative action and the courts' curtailment of civil rights. The report finds that discrimination in America permeates education, employment, treatment of migrants and immigrants, law enforcement, in the justice system.

The ACLU report takes note of the U.S. government's behavior around Hurricane Katrina, the dramatic increase in hate crimes, police brutality, racial profiling, and the government's failure to protect immigrants and non-citizens, and particularly low-wage workers.

Relative to Asians, the ACLU is relatively weak. While it rightly emphasizes discrimination against African Americans and Latinos, it notes little of things such as hate crimes and employment abuse and discrimination against Asian Americans except in noting the targeting of South Asians post-9/11.

The ACLU report, Race & Ethnicity in America: Turning a Blind Eye to Injustice, can be found online.