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Ten years ago, competent scholars thought it was impossible to measure racial discrimination directly. In 1977, HUD spent $1 million to measure the nature and extent of racial discrimination in housing. This nationwide Audit was the culmination of seven years of prior auditing conducted by local volunteer community organizations across the country. The Audit is a quasi-experimental field survey, which is used not only as a baseline for measuring changes in the extent and nature of housing discrimintion, but also as a means of implementing social change on local and national levels. Four action approaches have used Audit findings to expand equal housing opportunities for blacks: Legislation, Negotiation, Remuneration, and Litigation. These are illustrated in six local case studies. The nationwide Audit differed from prior community Audits in five ways, indicating rigorous controls and standardization. Results of the HUD Audit, though incomplete, reveal persistent massive racial discrimination in housing, with some geographical variations. Policy changes are sought to strengthen enforcement of federal fair housing laws on national and local levels.

Affirmative action and discriminatory measures are complex and controversial issues. The goal of affirmative action is to speed up the creation of a representative and equitable workforce and to assist those who were historically disadvantaged by unfair discrimination to fulfil their maximum potential. The term invokes emotions that range from fear and rage to satisfaction. Affirmative action has encouraged an ongoing debate regarding the legal, moral and economic questions arising from the preferential treatment of certain groups of people in society. Underlying this debate are various concerns about the notion of reverse discrimination or the unfair disadvantage to individuals who bear no responsibility for past or present discrimination practised by others. This article states the current position with regard to the caste system and the reservation of jobs in the Republic of India in the context of affirmative action and the achievement of equality in the workplace. Its purpose is to highlight the extreme division of opinion about what is socially acceptable, namely, caste. Further, it provides the reader with an understanding of the need for affirmative action in the first place in India, and thereby creates a powerful tool for understanding discrimination and the need for affirmative action measures. Another goal is to provide useful guidelines and information to all persons involved in implementing affirmative action programmes. It serves to show that if affirmative action measures and/or discriminatory measures are not properly thought out then affirmative action becomes burdensome and even more discriminatory, rather than being a means of achieving equality and redressing past wrongs.

Affirmative action and discriminatory measures are complex and controversial issues. The goal of affirmative action is to speed up the creation of a representative and equitable workforce and to assist those who were historically disadvantaged by unfair discrimination to fulfil their maximum potential. The term invokes emotions that range from fear and rage to satisfaction. Affirmative action has encouraged an ongoing debate regarding the legal, moral and economic questions arising from the preferential treatment of certain groups of people in society. Underlying this debate are various concerns about the notion of reverse discrimination or the unfair disadvantage to individuals who bear no responsibility for past or present discrimination practised by others. This article states the current position with regard to the caste system and the reservation of jobs in the Republic of India in the context of affirmative action and the achievement of equality in the workplace. Its purpose is to highlight the extreme division of opinion about what is socially acceptable, namely, caste. Further, it provides the reader with an understanding of the need for affirmative action in the first place in India, and thereby creates a powerful tool for understanding discrimination and the need for affirmative action measures. Another goal is to provide useful guidelines and information to all persons involved in implementing affirmative action programmes. It serves to show that if affirmative action measures and/or discriminatory measures are not properly thought out then affirmative action becomes burdensome and even more discriminatory, rather than being a means of achieving equality and redressing past wrongs.

1 p. A typed letter from Robert B. Duncan, Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives to the Sigma Chi Fraternity questioning their policy of racial discrimination and if it is indeed their policy, to remove his name from their membership roster.