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President Roosevelt's EO 8802
In June of 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, banning discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work. It was the first Presidential directive on race since Reconstruction. The order also established the Fair Employment Practices Commission to enforce the new policy. link text -
the birth of 'Affirmative Action'
On March 6 1961, President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925, requiring government contractors to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color or national origin.” The Order gave federal agencies authority to prosecute against contractors who violated their EEO obligations. It also created the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. -
the Civil Rights Act: a major step forward
On July 2 1964, after a long struggle in both the House and the Senate, the Civil Rights Act was finally signed into law by President Johnson, who hereby completed the work that his predecessor had started. Title VII of the Act prohibited any kind of discrimination in matters of Employment, and installed a now permanent Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. The Act became law one year later, on July 2 1965. link text -
the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission begins its work
On July 2 1965, the EEOC started its activities. In the beginning, however, the Commission found its power severely curtailed. EEOC could only receive, investigate and try to conciliate complaints about employment discrimination. If unsuccessful, it had no other options than to encourage individuals to bring a private lawsuit or refer existing "patterns of discrimination" to the Department of Justice. link text -
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fighting for their rights
As soon as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act became law, activists everywhere began to press charges against employers that were perceived to discriminate on the basis of race. Between 1966 and 1970, the EEOC handled nearly 75,000 charges of discrimination. Many of these were brought by the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, but also ordinary workers were highly instrumental in putting the law to work. The southern textile industry has been one of the largest sources of individual charges to date. -
President Johnson signs Executive Order 11246
This EO imposed nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements as a condition of doing business with the Federal Government, making the Secretary of Labor responsible for their observance. Soon after, Secretary Wirtz created the Office of Federal Contract Compliance. As opposed to the EEOC, the Office did have the means to enforce its affirmative action plans, by bringing proceedings or cancelling contracts. link text -
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TEAM - Textiles: Employment and Advancement for Minorities
In the wake of the EEOC textile forum, six private agencies (under the leadership of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund) joined together to form TEAM, a project aimed at improving equal employment opportunities in the Southern Textile Industry. Headquartered in Greenville (SC), TEAM's members set out to visit plants and talk to local civil rights groups. Although some progress was made, TEAM was mostly instrumental in identifying the main obstacles to the integration of the industry. -
EEOC hearings on the textile industry
The EEOC did not only process individual complaints. It also conducted research and held hearings focused on specific industries. Textiles was singled out as the first. In 1967, the EEOC held a two-day forum in Charlotte (NC) about employment discrimination in southern textiles. The hearings established that discrimination was a real problem, with only 8.4% of textile workers in North and South Carolina being African American, and 99% of those in blue collar and service jobs. -
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OFCC Compliance Reviews
In the aftermath of the EEOC textile forum, the EEOC, OFCC and Department of Defense agreed on a plan to review the equal employment programs in the textile industry in North and South Carolina. The OFCC would review the ten largest companies, and the EEOC - with the help of the Department of Defense - would look into the smaller firms. The first review was made at Dan River Mills in January 1968. Reviews continued throughout the year, yielding however few results. -
Large textile companies under scrutiny
In 1968, the OFCC began to review the affirmative action policies of large textile companies. When continued discussions with the three largest firms - Dan River, JP Stevens and Burlington - did not result in any concrete action taken, the OFCC temporarily withdrew their government contracts. In February 1969, the contracts were eventually awarded. Following their allocation, the companies finally did agree upon a nondiscriminatory employment program, the first of its kind in the industry. -
The Revised Philadelphia Plan
The first federal policy of race-conscious affirmative action was the Revised Philadelphia Plan. This plan, approved under the Nixon administration, required federal contractors to set specific goals and timetables for integrating their workforce. The plan was first implemented in Philadelphia in 1969 in order to combat institutionalized discrimination within skilled labor unions, but was quickly extended to other cities. link text -
Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
In Griggs v. Duke Power, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of African American workers who were challenging the requirement of a high school diploma or passing of intelligence tests as a condition of employment in or transfer to jobs at a Duke electrical plant. The Court ruled that such employment practices violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when they disparately affected minorities. In doing so, it delivered a significant anti-employment discrimination verdict. -
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
Having understood that the enforcement of the Civil Rights Act in the field of employment left much to be desired, Congress devised and voted the Equal Employment Opportunity Act in March 1972. This Act greatly extended the powers of the EEOC, providing it with real litigation authority; expanding the coverage of Title VII to all governmental employers; and reducing the number of employees needed for coverage from 25 to 15. The Act also created the EEO Coordinating Council, to maximize efforts.
