Final answer:
Ronald Reagan's policies affected the EEOC and the US Commission on Civil Rights by reducing their effectiveness in dealing with discrimination complaints. Budget cuts and leadership changes led to fewer investigations and enforcement actions. Reagan's tenure marked a retreat from the gains of the Civil Rights Movement and a contentious shift towards prioritizing employer rights.
Step-by-step explanation:
The policies of President Ronald Reagan had significant effects on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the US Commission on Civil Rights. Reagan's actions demonstrated a marginalization of civil rights concerns, typified by his dismissal of civil rights veteran Eleanor Holmes Norton from the EEOC and attempting to fire Mary Frances Berry from the Civil Rights Commission. Reagan's appointee, Clarence Thomas, shifted the focus of the EEOC away from enforcing equality benchmarks, and budget cuts under Reagan led to a majority of complaints from women and minorities going uninvestigated.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was an important legislative achievement that created the EEOC to combat employment discrimination. Reagan's policies reflected a pushback against the post-civil rights movement gains, shifting the balance in favor of employer rights and against the principles of affirmative action and equal opportunity. His administration's reduction in attention and resources to these commissions resulted in less enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, impacting women and minorities significantly.
Despite signing the bill to create a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Reagan's support for civil rights measures was lukewarm and accompanied by actions that many viewed as undermining the legacy of the civil rights movement. The effects of his policies on the EEOC and civil rights institutions were a marked shift from the intentions of the 1964 act and a source of contention regarding affirmative action and equal opportunity in the United States.