The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Remarks of Wade Henderson Regarding Civil Rights Opposition to the Faith-Based Initiative

Speech by Wade Henderson on July 13, 2001.

Good afternoon. I am Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation's oldest, largest and most diverse civil rights coalition of organizations committed to the protection of civil and human rights in the United States.

We have invited you to participate in this press briefing today for several reasons. First, we would like an opportunity to respond and further clarify certain events that have taken place in the last week regarding the White House's efforts to push so-called charitable choice provisions through Congress. In addition, this provides an opportunity to lay some important groundwork for the debate expected next week in the House.

This morning I am joined by Hilary Shelton, Director of the Washington Bureau of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Reverend Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and several other leaders from the civil rights community.

Earlier this week it was revealed in The Washington Post that the White House was involved in negotiations with the Salvation Army, including proposed regulations that would allow federally funded discrimination. Despite the White House's announcement that it not move forward on these regulations, this is by no means a victory. The White House still intends to aggressively push legislation through Congress that would do exactly the same thing.

The Leadership Conference believes that the employment provision of charitable choice threatens a cornerstone principle of our nation's civil rights laws; the principle that federal funds generally will not go to persons who discriminate against others. It is hard to overstate the importance of our national commitment to this principle. Not only should all of us be free from discrimination by the government itself, but we also should have the assurance that our government is not providing federal dollars to programs that discriminate against others.

This core principle was first enunciated in 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the first Executive order, prohibiting federal defense contractors from discriminating based on race, religion, color or national origin. Not only was the Roosevelt Executive Order the beginning of a long national commitment to barring federal funds to most persons who discriminate against others, it also was the first national victory of the modern civil rights movement.

In the sixty years since the signing of that executive order, we have taken colossal strides toward ending employment discrimination and advancing equality in this great nation. Yet, the Bush administration is promoting legislation that will effectively take the civil rights movement several steps backward. Along with numerous other civil rights organizations, the Leadership Conference, calls on the Bush administration not to extend Title VII to public funding.