Title VI was designed to put an end to Federal support of discrimination and to assure blacks the right of access to Federally assisted programs. However, the Federal government has not established sufficiently rigorous compliance and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that its programs do not contribute to racial discrimination. In order to enforce Title VI effectively, agencies must have not only acceptable monitoring and enforcement procedures but a commitment to remedying the effects of past racial discrimination and making sure no one is improperly excluded on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Within the context of urban mass transportation, the principles of Title VI are particularly applicable. Minorities in the cities have suffered the consequences of isolation, increased travel costs, and displacement brought on by the expenditure of billions of Federal dollars on highway construction. As a Federal agency, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) has an important role to play in dealing with the problems of minority groups in America's cities in meeting and going beyond the requirements of Title VI. (Author/EB)