Barack Obama will combat employment discrimination:
Obama and Biden will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails
women’s and racial minorities' ability to challenge pay discrimination. They will also
pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work and the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation
or gender identity or expression.

Strengthen civil rights enforcement:
Obama and Biden will reverse the politicization that has occurred in the Bush
Administration's Department of Justice. They will put an end to the ideological litmus
tests used to fill positions within the Civil Rights Division.

Expand hate crime statutes:
Obama and Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes
protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the
Department of Justice's Criminal Section.

Plan to Strengthen Civil Rights
The Problem
Pay Inequity Continues: For every $1.00 earned by a man, the average woman receives only
77 cents, while African American women only get 67 cents and Latinas receive only 57
cents.

Hate Crimes on the Rise: The number of hate crimes increased nearly 8 percent to 7,700
incidents in 2006.

Efforts Continue to Suppress the Vote: A recent study discovered numerous organized
efforts to intimidate, mislead and suppress minority voters.

Disparities Continue to Plague Criminal Justice System: African Americans and Hispanics
are more than twice as likely as whites to be searched, arrested, or subdued with force
when stopped by police. Disparities in drug sentencing laws, like the differential
treatment of crack as opposed to powder cocaine, are unfair. 

Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan
Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement
Obama and Biden will reverse the politicization that has occurred in the Bush
Administration's Department of Justice. They will put an end to the ideological litmus
tests used to fill positions within the Civil Rights Division. 

Combat Employment Discrimination
Obama and Biden will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails
racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. They will also
pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work and the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation
or gender identity or expression. 

Expand Hate Crimes Statutes
Obama and Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes
protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the
Department of Justice's Criminal Section. 

End Deceptive Voting Practices
Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who
have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate
and full information so they can vote. 

End Racial Profiling
Obama and Biden will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide
federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice. 

Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support
Obama and Biden will provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling
to ex-offenders, so that they are successfully re-integrated into society. Obama and
Biden will also create a prison-to-work incentive program to improve ex-offender
employment and job retention rates. 

Eliminate Sentencing Disparities
Obama and Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine
is wrong and should be completely eliminated. 

Expand Use of Drug Courts
Obama and Biden will give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their
sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven
to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior. 

Barack Obama's Record
Record of Advocacy: Obama has worked to promote civil rights and fairness in the criminal
justice system throughout his career. As a community organizer, Obama helped 150,000
African Americans register to vote. As a civil rights lawyer, Obama litigated employment
discrimination, housing discrimination, and voting rights cases. As a State Senator,
Obama passed one of the country's first racial profiling laws and helped reform a broken
death penalty system. And in the U.S. Senate, Obama has been a leading advocate for
protecting the right to vote, helping to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and leading
the opposition against discriminatory barriers to voting.