The Discussion on Race Doesn't End with Obama

Senator Barack Obama's speech on race in America grabbed tons of headlines and airtime on Tuesday; it's nice to see of one of the ACLU's core issues get so much attention.

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and to mark this occasion, Jamil Dakwar, Advocacy Director, and Jennifer Turner, Human Rights Researcher for the ACLU's Human Rights Program (HRP), coauthored a blog post on DailyKos about the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's (CERD) recent report that concludes the United States government isn't doing enough to combat racism in America. They write:

"On issue after issue, the U.N. body slammed the U.S. government, noting numerous examples of racial discrimination and demonstrating that the U.S. government simply is not doing enough to address widespread racial discrimination. The Committee's findings unambiguously showed that to retain (or regain) any legitimacy as a proponent of human rights, the U.S. must address racial discrimination with real reforms."

HRP has been working tirelessly in its advocacy efforts to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. They first issue a report, Race & Ethnicity in America: Turning a Blind Eye to Injustice, last December. HRP also led a delegation of ACLU advocates to Geneva to testify before the committee.

To learn more about CERD and read blog posts from the ACLU's delegation to Geneva, go to /cerd.