Tag: Title VII

Notes for speech on the history of Title VII

Title: Unknown

Date: Sometime after 1991 based on reference to 1991 Civil Rights Act

Audience:  Unknown

Link to original:  https://petercrobertsonarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/speech-fragment-scanned.pdf

In a sense the legal history should tell us what happened when T7 was created from the primordial oooz — from amorphous cosmos — the unformed mass.  When the Congress said “let there be light” what did they mean.

But I have decided to do something else.  I was out there in that primordial ooz — before the light was turned on — serving from 1963 ([illeg] I went to EEOC in 1967) as E.D. of the M.C.H.R. …. Trying occasionally to light a light but more often cursing the darkness.

[Because] much of the [legal history] + much of the early actions at EEOC involved attempts to create a law — a structure — a process that would [benefit] from the failures of and remove the limits of the states[,] I think it might be useful to start with a discussion of how the world looked to a state agency in 1963-1964.

Chron

Job week before [Birmingham] fire hoses.

Report after.

$12,000 budget

Governor ½|½  à Wallace; Ross Barnett; Orvell Fairbush

Scope of what we did was very [limited]

Any attempt (by those who file) to broaden was subject to political [attack]

  • Others similarly situated

phone call to CHAIR

  • Encourage filing

phone call to GOVERNOR

  • Initiate
    • Carson[’]s pledge on new money will not be used
  • If you ran into opposition you backed OFF
  • No litigation on vindicate powers. Surprize when arrive at EEOC to discover [illeg].

[Marginal note]:  New York amend rather than fight

  • And most important no [definition] of [discrimination]. 2 aspects
  • Procedural Philadelphia story
  • What did your [investigator] look for

⬇

Conciliation while under investigation

No body of law

Nothing called A.A. [assume “affirmative action”].

Harold Fleming

When I [arrived] at EEOC three dimension[s]

A.  Defend its process

Bill[’]s article

(Still true?)

B. Define discrimination

Norton 20

C. Legis[lative] hist[ory] that is most important

D. Impact on AA

  1. OFCCP
  2. EEOC focus on individual case[s] not systems
  3. 1991 C.R. ACT punish > d systems.

[Marginal note at “2” above]: Tell S. Story.  With occasional exceptions in one or two reg[ional] [offices]

⇓

Chronic refusal to look for + remedy systemic discrim[ination].