THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS AND CIVIL RIGHTS| 399Other indicators show similar patterns. For example, the rate of black, adult
male unemployment has been about twice as high as that of white adult males
for the past 45 years. On every measure of health—life expectancy, infectious
diseases, infant mortality, cancer rates, heart disease, and strokes—the gaps
between whites and blacks are large and, in many cases, increasing.^19
Criminal Justice and Hate Crimes
The greatest disparity between racial minorities and whites may be in the crimi-
nal justice system. Racial profi ling subjects many innocent blacks to intrusive
sea rches. In addition, blacks a re not only more likely tha n whites to be convicted
for the same crimes but also likely to serve longer sentences.^20 And African
Americans and other minorities are subjected to hate crimes much more fre-
quently than whites. According to the FBI, of the 6,624 hate crimes committed
in 2010, 47.3 percent were race related. Of these, nearly 70 percent were “anti-
black” and only 18 percent were “anti-white,” which means that the rate of anti-
black hate crimes is more than fi ve times what would be expected based on the
percentage of African Americans in the United States, while the rate of anti-
white hate crimes is about one-fourth as high as would be expected.^21
This backdrop of racial inequality, discrimination, and violence drives civil
rights activists to push their agenda in the three branches of government: legisla-
tive, executive, and judicial. In some instances, activists work in several arenas
simultaneously; in others, they seek redress in one arena after exhausting alterna-
tives. The civil rights movement, which was crucial in the early policy successes,
also continues to mobilize the grass roots.
The Policy- Making Process and Civil Rights
Our nation’s system of separated and shared powers almost ensures that each
branch has some say in making policy. Each has played a central role at diff erent
points in history. For example, in the 1940s and 1950s the courts were considered
the most sympathetic branch for advancing the civil rights agenda because segre-
gationist southern Democrats controlled key congressional committees and none
of the presidents of this era made civil rights a top priority. Then, in the mid-1960s,
Congress took the lead role by passing landmark legislation.
The policy-making process in the area of civil rights also provides insight into
the importance of federalism. To promote African Americans’ civil rights, the
national government required the southern states to desegregate schools, allow
blacks to vote, and generally dismantle the system of segregation, thus demon-
strating the importance of nation-centered federalism. However, in terms of gay
rights, state and local governments have taken the lead role. Congress, in contrast,
has taken steps to restrict gay rights, especially gay marriage (although with a few
important exceptions, such as the service of gay men and lesbians in the military).
EXPLAIN THE APPROACHES
USED TO BRING ABOUT
CHANGE IN CIVIL RIGHTS
POLICYJAMES BYRD JR. WAS MURDERED
In Jasper, Texas, by three white
supremacists who chained him
to a pickup truck and dragged
him down a road until he was
decapitated. According to FBI
statistics, in 2008 nearly three-
quarters of race-related hate
crimes in the United States were
“anti-black.”