Racial discrimination and forms of redress in the military

Abstract

Since passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers have been required to eliminate race as a criterion for virtually all job decisions. Because of a series of legal rulings, however, the U.S. military has more or less been exempt from complying with the requirements of Title VII. The reason for this exemption has been the prevailing belief that the ability to address grievances to civilian courts would undermine the discipline necessary for accomplishment of the military mission. Such an assumption is unsupported by empirical evidence. Uniformed military personnel who feel they are victims of racial discrimination must use the military justice system, which provides less protection for the individual. This paper argues that allowing uniformed military personnel access to civilian courts for redress of Title VII grievances may improve military morale and efficiency.