Ironically the limited success of the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation are being used as evidence against further support and enforcement of civil rights polices. There are significant, growing signs that the body politic is becoming more conservative on strategic economic and social issues. At stake is the very heart of the public discourse on racism and social policy. A highly well-financed conservative campaign has shifted the political debate on race relations to aggressive opposition to liberal social policy. Black people and civil rights organizations have been put on the defensive.
Conservative activists target affirmative action policies as no longer necessary.
Moreover, they accuse affirmative action programs of reverse discrimination against whites. This is a false discourse, because racial inequality continues in all aspects of American social life. For instance, the National Bar Association pointed out recently the evidence supports the complaints of racial discrimination by Supreme Court justices in hiring their own law clerks. Those who benefit materially from institutionalized racism are resistant to change, thereby seeking to maintain the status quo of the post-civil rights era, preserve the legacy of 'white skin privilege' and dominance of the majority group. The false discourse on race must be vigorously challenged.