VIOLATION OF TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT?

By Cornell Lewis

In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed to much acclaim from people all over America. Finally the ugly specter of racism might vanish under these laws; segregation and Mr. Charley finally vanquished. Hey wait a minute. The Department of Children and Families along with Connecticut Juvenile Training School might be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. According to documents gained through the Freedom of Information Act DCF displays a clear pattern of discrimination against employees of color. If you look at the website dcfplantation.org there are charts/graphs describing how 66% of all disciplinary actions within DCF are against employees of color; CJTS has a class action lawsuit filed against it by five employees of color within the last 3 years. For 30 years there have been allegations, complaints, and legal action against DCF over issues of discrimination, yet no one (to my knowledge) brought up possible violation of Civil Rights violations. Records show that DCF receives millions of Federal funds directly, including, but not limited to Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, Independent Living, Social Services Block Grant, Child Welfare Services Grant, and many other grants. Also DCF receives Federal grants indirectly through other State agencies such as Department of Education and Office of Policy Management (OPM). From what Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 read someone could be in clear violation of the law.

Overview of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VI, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., was enacted as part of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. As President John F. Kennedy said in 1963: Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color or national origin] discrimination. If a recipient of federal assistance is found to have discriminated and voluntary compliance cannot be achieved, the federal agency providing the assistance should either initiate fund termination proceedings or refer the matter to the Department of Justice for appropriate legal action. Aggrieved individuals may file administrative complaints with the federal agency that provides funds to a recipient, or the individuals may file suit for appropriate relief in federal court. Title VI itself prohibits intentional discrimination.

For some activists of color working at CJTS discrimination comes in the form of retaliation for making public certain views: “DCF is based on White Supremacy and there is an unjust exercise of power and unearned privileges that come with whiteness.” All top positions [where real power resides] at DCF/CJTS are held by white people. When white supremacist society is mentioned I use author Robert Jensen’s definition: “a society (and DCF/CJTS are societies unto themselves) whose founding is based in an ideology of the inherent superiority of white people over non whites.” A perusal of DCFs founding and evolution seems to support Jensen’s thoughts. The continued cries of racial discrimination are largely ignored by a larger society. DCF/CJTS care for children/adolescents which hides an ugly truth from a majority of Connecticut residents. A question that must be asked is has The Civil Rights Act Title VI been violated by a state agency receiving federal funds?