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Civil Rights Records

Electronic Records Reference Report

Introduction

Selma to Montgomery March

Marching Arm in Arm

This reference report provides an overview of some of the electronic data records in the custody of the National Archives that pertain to civil rights in the United States, including data related to affirmative action, discriminatory practices, sexual harassment, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Descriptions of the series and data files listed in this report are in the National Archives Catalog. The National Archives Catalog can be searched by title, National Archives Identifier, type of archival material, or keyword.

Some of the series and files listed in this report are accessible online:

Download - This is a link for downloading the files and documentation from the Catalog. For more details on downloading files, please review the frequently asked questions (FAQs).

Researchers may order copies of these computerized data files for a cost-recovery fee and analyze the records directly, using whatever hardware and software available to them. For more information see: Ordering Information for Electronic Records.

Record Group 12: Records of the Office of Education

Equality of Educational Opportunity Survey, 1966
National Archives Identifier: 610073
Online Access: Download

Also known as the Coleman Study, this series contains information obtained from test scores and questionnaire responses from 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th grade students and from questionnaire responses of teachers and principals. The information was collected from public schools within the United States and the District of Columbia, involving 568,743 students, 66,826 teachers, and 4,081 principals.

Record Group 29: Records of the Bureau of the Census

Summary Statistic Data Files from the 20th Census of Population and Housing
- Census of Population and Housing, 1980: Equal Employment Opportunity Special File
  National Archives Identifier: 602285
  Online Access: Download
  For the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Special File, there is one data file per state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Geographic areas include states, counties, Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and places of 50,000 or more population.
  
  Summary Statistic Data Files from the 21st Census of Population and Housing
  - Census of Population and Housing, 1990: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Files
    National Archives Identifier: 609357
    Data Files: 54 (one for the U.S.; one per state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States)
    Technical Documentation: for the U.S. and state files: 313 pages of documentation and 45 page data dictionary printout (also available in electronic format); for the Puerto Rico file: 156 pages of documentation and 26 page data dictionary printout (also available in electronic format); and for the Virgin Islands of the United States: 228 pages of documentation and 46 page data dictionary printout (also available in electronic format)
    These data files contain detailed occupational (including long term unemployed) and educational attainment data cross-tabulated by sex, race, Hispanic origin, and/or age.
  - Census of Population and Housing, 1990: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Supplemental Tabulation Files
    National Archives Identifier: 623497
    Data Files: 105
    Technical Documentation: 171 pages
    These data files contain occupational data, released separately to private sector users and to Federal government users, by various categories such as education, sex, race and Hispanic origin, and/or industry.
Summary Statistic Data Files from the 22nd Census of Population and Housing
- Census of Population and Housing, 2000: Special Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation Files
  National Archives Identifier: 657376
  Data Files: 47
  Technical Documentation: 402 pages and 17 electronic documentation files
  This file contains data for Census detailed occupations / Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Federal workforce occupational groups for various levels of geography and cross-classified by selected characteristics.
- Census of Population and Housing, 2000: Voting Rights Data Files
  National Archives Identifier: 657168
  Data Files: 2
  Technical Documentation: 14 pages
  This file contains population counts for all persons and all persons 18 years and over cross-tabulated by citizenship, literacy, and English proficiency.

Record Group 47: Records of the Social Security Administration

Survey of Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged, 1968
National Archives Identifier: 610068
Online Access: Download
This series contains data from a survey population consisting of married couples with at least one spouse of age 65 or older and other individuals in that age group.

Record Group 235: General Records of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Survey Files, 1968-1976
National Archives Identifier: 627717
Online Access: Download

This series contains data from surveys administered to a selected sample of school districts in 1968, 1970, 1972, and 1976, to monitor compliance by school systems with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Some of the data in these files may overlap with the Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Survey, 1968-1998: School District Time Series Data File in Record Group 441.

Higher Education Civil Rights Survey Files (HECRS), 1968-1974
National Archives Identifier: 627715
Online Access: Download

This series contains data from surveys of institutions of higher education that receive Federal financial assistance to verify compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Record Group 330: Records of the Secretary of Defense

American Soldier in World War II Surveys, 1942-1945
National Archives Identifier: 620483
Online Access: Download

There are 84 surveys in this series, including some with responses of Army nurses and Women Army Corps (WACs). The surveys most directly related to Civil Rights issues are:
- Survey Responses of Enlisted Men About Race Relations in the U.S. Army
  National Archives Identifier: 854569; 7062647
  
  These data files contain responses of two separate surveys of both black and white Army soldiers in World War II. One survey, conducted in March 1943, includes the responses of 7,442 black troops and 4,793 white troops stationed in the U.S. regarding such issues as adjustment to Army life, equality, segregation, integration, relations with officers, attitudes towards blacks, and post-war race relations. Another survey, administered in September and October 1944, includes the responses of 981 blacks in quartermaster companies in stationed in Hawaii to questions about attitudes toward the leadership, relations with local civilians, relations with military police, and other issues.

Record Group 403: Records of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Integrated Mission System (IMS) Files, 1976-2004
National Archives Identifier: 609248
Data Files: 8
Technical Documentation: 11 pages and 2 electronic documentation files
This series contains information on charges of employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability and other bases in hiring, firing, wages, training, apprenticeship and other conditions of employment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the laws prohibiting job discrimination. In particular, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination by private employers, employment agencies, or labor unions and, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, Title VII was amended to also include public educational systems and institutions, and local and state governments. As part of enforcing Title VII, employers submit employment/membership profile reports to the EEOC. Information from these reports make up the records in the series listed below. The records are restricted under Section 709(e) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but Title 44 U.S.C. 2108 limits the restriction to thirty years after the date of data collection. Therefore the files from less than thirty years ago are restricted, but the earlier Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) files are available. The series of EEOC electronic records in NARA's custody include:

Employer Information Report Files (EEO-1), 1966-2010
National Archives Identifier: 600965
Online Access: Download
This series contains the workforce profile data for private employers.

Apprenticeship Information Report Files (EEO-2, EEO-2E), 1967-1972
National Archives Identifier: 610170
Online Access: Download

This series consists of the Joint Labor-Management Committee Report (EEO-2), which contains the reports of joint labor-management apprenticeship committees on minority employment, and the Employer-Operated Apprenticeship Program Report (EEO-2E), which contains the membership profiles of local union apprenticeship programs.

Local Union Report Files (EEO-3), 1967-1972, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010
National Archives Identifier: 610172
Online Access: Download
This series contains data from reports filed by labor union locals.

State and Local Government Information Files (EEO-4), 1973-1974, 2007, 2009
National Archives Identifier: 610169
Online Access: Download

These files contain data from reports filed by functional activities of individual local and state governments.

Elementary and Secondary Staff Information Report Files (EEO-5), 1973-1974, 2006, 2008, 2010
National Archives Identifier: 610171
Online Access: Download

This series contains data from reports filed by school districts and by individual public elementary and secondary schools.

Record Group 441: General Records of the Department of Education

School District Time Series Data Files, 1968 through 2005
National Archives Identifier: 1436514
Online Access: Download

This file contains detailed statistics on the composition of educational programs and activities for school districts for the years 1968 through 2005. Some of the data may overlap with the Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Survey Files in Record Group 235.
Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Survey, 1998-2010
National Archives Identifier: 1695526
Data Files: various per year
Technical Documentation: varies per year and may include electronic documentation files.
This file contains detailed statistics on the composition of educational programs and activities for school districts (starting in 2000) and for individual schools. Detailed data for school districts compiled prior to 2000 are included in the School District Time Series Data File (see above). Detailed data for individual schools for 1968, 1970, 1972, and 1976 are included in the Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Survey Files in Record Group 235.

Record Group 448: General Records of the Employment Standards Administration

Complaint Administration System File, 1986 - 1994
National Archives Identifier: 636500
Online Access: Download

This series consists of records containing detailed information about employment discrimination complaints received by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Compliance Review Information System File, 1988-1994
National Archives Identifier: 636508
Online Access: Download

This series consists of a file containing detailed information about employment discrimination compliance reviews conducted by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Record Group 453: Records of the United States Commission on Civil Rights

Puerto Rican and Southwestern Spanish Surname Extract Files from the 19th Census of Population and Housing
National Archives Identifier: 607070
Online Access: Download

This series contains responses from all households/persons in the 1/100 Public Use Sample whose head was of Puerto Rican birth or parentage, or whose head had both a Spanish surname and lived in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, or Texas. The data, extracted from the 15% sample of the 1970 Census, includes household and population characteristics.
School Superintendents Survey, 1976-1977
National Archives Identifier: 606508
Online Access: Download

This series consists of data from a representative sample of 1,292 school districts and response data from 996 school superintendents in order to asses school desegregation in the United States. No data was collected from either the District of Columbia or Hawaii. The United State Commission on Civil Rights published its conclusions from this and other data in Reviewing a Decade of School Desegregation 1966-1975: Report of a National Survey of School Superintendents (January 1977).
Social Indicators of Equality for Minorities and Women Files
National Archives Identifier: 599800
Online Access: Download

This series consists of samples of 56,265 individuals from the Public Use Sample of the 1960 Census of Population and Housing; 153,715 individuals from the State 5% Public Use Sample of the 1970 Census of Population and Housing; 77,702 individuals from the State 15% Public Use Sample of the 1970 Census; and 110,545 individuals from the Public Use Sample of the 1976 Survey of Income and Education.

Record Group 479: Records of the Merit Systems Protection Board

Targeted Surveys of Federal Employees
National Archives Identifier: 569653
Online Access: Download
- Career Development Survey [A Question of Equity, Women and the Glass Ceiling], 1991-1992
  National Archives Identifier: 578655
  This file contains survey responses about factors that affect the career advancement of Federal employees and whether barriers exist that restrict the movement of women in the civil service into management positions.
- Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace, 1979-1980
  National Archives Identifier: 578670
  This file consists of survey responses of 20,083 respondents out of a disproportionately stratified random sample of 23,964 civilian executive branch Federal employees.
- Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace, 1987
  National Archives Identifier: 578672
  
  This file contains survey responses from 8,523 respondents our of disproportionate stratified random sample of approximately 13,000 full-time, executive branch Federal employees.
- Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace [Trends, Progress, Continuing Challenges], 1994
  National Archives Identifier: 578675
  This file consists of survey responses from 8,081 respondents out of a disproportionate stratified random sample of full-time, executive branch Federal employees all over the country.
- Survey on Career Advancement and Workforce Diversity in the Federal Civil Service, Files 1 and 2, 1993
  National Archives Identifier: 578761
  These files contain survey responses about the factors affecting the employment and career advancement of minorities in the Federal workplace.

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September 2023

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