1985 February 26 The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights gives enthusiastic support to a Supreme Court decision giving the seniority systems in place in cities that have affirmative action programs preference over recently hired blacks when layoffs are necessary; even though the blacks were hired to remedy previously contended discriminatory hiring practices. U. S. Civil Rights Commissioners Mary Frances Beny and Blandina Cardenas Ramirez, in heated disagreement with the Supreme Court and the Civil Rights Commission's report, state that civil rights laws are designed to protect blacks, minorities, and women, not white men. The statement creates new controversy as to the meaning of the existence of the Civil Rights Commission.