IN THIS ISSUE... we take note of the bicentennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence. Birthdays have a way of coming up whether one wants them or not, and bicentennials are no different. This country has achieved a great deal, considering its flawed foundations, but much that has given us hope has happened all too recently.

This year marks only the 12th anniversay of the act outlawing segregation in public accommodations, and only the 11th anniversary of the law ensuring blacks the right to vote. Only 23 years ago, school segregation was constitutional and only in the last decade has the drive for equal employment gained real victories. These are sobering realities. Much remains to be accomplished. Our political democracy is weakened by economic inequality, and this problem will be much harder to solve than any of the others we have so far surmounted. The individual achievements of women and minority men have yet to be matched by progress across the board; statistics on earnings, employment, and particularly the distribution of wealth confront us like stone walls.

For this reason, we celebrate the bicentennial in this issue in somewhat guarded fashion. While our authors do not heap blame, neither do they sing praises. Rather, we try in this issue to do what we attempted in the last issue and the issue before that--to point to our progress and our problems and, with any luck, to some solutions. At the same time, we have taken advantage of the occasion to include some broad views of the past and future, particularly in the articles by Howard Meyer, Paul Hencke, and Martin Kilson, as well as two examinations of the present, by Moses Lukaczer and Shirley Hill Witt. We hope this mixture suits the temper of the times by examining where we've been without losing sight of how far we have yet to go.

For more copies of the Digest or inclusion on our free mailing list, please write to the Editor, Civil Rights Digest, U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C. 20425.

The Civil Rights Digest is published quarterly by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights as part of its clearinghouse responsibilities. Funds for printing the Digest were approved by the Director of Bureau of the Budget on January 29, 1963. Correspondence related to the Digest should be addressed to Editor, Civil Rights Digest, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C. 20425.

The articles in the Digest do not necessarily represent Commission policy but are offered to stimulate ideas and interest on various issues concerning civil rights.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is a temporary, independent, bipartisan agency established by Congress in 1957 to:

Investigate complaints alleging denial of the right to vote by reason of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or by reason of fraudulent practices;

Study and collect information concerning legal developments constituting a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or in the administration of justice;

Appraise Federal laws and policies with respect to the denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or in the administration of justice;

Serve as a national clearinghouse for information concerning denials of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; and

Submit reports, findings, and recommendations to the President and Congress.