Congress Introduces Civil Rights Act of 2008

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Angela Okamura and Katie McCown civilrights.org
January 24, 2008

As the nation celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is fitting that Representative John Lewis, D. Ga., and Senator Edward M. Kennedy, D. Mass., should introduce the Civil Rights Act of 2008 this week, just days after King's birthday. The Act would restore civil rights protections Americans have counted on for decades.
"The introduction of the Civil Rights Act of 2008 could not come at a better time," said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. "People think the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is written in stone, but Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy is being dismantled court by court, judge by judge, and ruling by ruling, eviscerating protections that all Americans depend on."
In recent years, the federal judiciary has eroded our national commitment to equal opportunity for all. The courts have increasingly adopted narrow understandings of rights and new restrictions on access to the courts and effective legal remedies that together leave victims of discrimination without justice.
In order to guarantee that federal funds are no longer used to subsidize discrimination, the Civil Rights Act of 2008 will restore the right of individuals to challenge practices that have an unjustified discriminatory effect based on race, color, national origin, disability, age, or gender.
The bill will also hold state employers accountable for age discrimination, protect students from unlawful harassment in our schools, and improve the mechanisms of accountability for other civil rights and workers' rights violations.
Civil and human rights groups representing various communities applaud Sen. Kennedy's and Rep. Lewis' commitment to reversing the recent rollback in core civil rights protections.
Vincent Eng, deputy director of the Asian American Justice Center, highlights the Act's importance to his community: "Asian Americans across the country continue to face rampant discrimination in the workplace and encounter critical language and cultural barriers to accessing federal programs and services. Now is the time to ensure that we continue to provide communities with the safeguards they need to promote prosperous and productive citizens."
The last time Congress overturned a string of court rulings that severely impacted civil rights was in 1991, after the Supreme Court limited the rights of employees to prevail in court when discriminated against by their employers. http://www.civilrights.org/press_room/buzz_clips/civilrightsorg-stories/civil-rights-act.html/