The success of recent lawsuits charging major corporations with employment discrimination also confirms that the more subtle forms of job bias remain widespread. Blacks today may register and vote unmolested anywhere in the country. But the nation is now witnessing attempts to turn back the clock to the days when minority vote dilution was the political norm. Most of the majority-black congressional districts that were drawn in Southern states after the last census have been challenged in the courts. In the criminal justice system, the rising use of the death penalty, combined with extreme racial disparities in the application of that sentence in many states, constitutes a serious unresolved civil rights problem.
Education is now less a civil rights issue and more a concern over quality.
Black children are no longer required to attend segregated schools, although most school districts that serve them are overwhelmingly black. Inequalities in education today stem from unfair academic tracking programs, the inequitable administration of discipline, and exclusionary standardized tests. Another serious concern is how to prevent a black undercount in the next census. On the economic front, job creation and the preparation of young African Americans for an increasingly high-tech workplace through college or other job training programs have become as important as combating employment discrimination. Many policymakers are now working to promote black entrepreneurship, an issue that was nearly absent from the list of priorities in the '60s.