The only fair and effective way to achieve racial equality is by scrupulously adhering to the principle of equality under the law. Racial justice requires a comprehensive public effort to break down discriminatory barriers, redress individual grievances, and ensure equal treatment in education, in the workplace, and elsewhere. The Constitution promises equal opportunity, not equal results. The government's obligation is to ensure that the rules of the game are the same for everyone. Beyond that, no further public action to help individuals is consistent with our political beliefs.
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It is not enough for government to be concerned with individual acts of discrimination. A nation dedicated to the principle of equal treatment has to recognize the enduring legacy of racial discrimination and compensate for it. Groups that have traditionally experienced discrimination, and continue to experience discrimination, must be given preferential treatment to facilitate progress toward racial equality. Racial justice is achieved when there is evidence of roughly equal results -- for example, a proportionate number of individuals of various races who hold good-paying jobs.
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The major barrier to racial equality today is not racial bias or discrimination but poverty- related conditions that keep many members of minority groups from becoming literate and employable, and prevent them from moving into the American mainstream. Only when government provides the material prerequisites for a decent life -- including quality early education for everyone -- does equality of opportunity exist. The most promising way to achieve racial equality is by taking additional measures to provide an equal opportunity to everyone, regardless of race.
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