Highlight Menu on Current Page - css

Question

I don't understand why the menu won't highlight on current page? on .menu ul li a:hover, .active {color: #788d35} If I put "background-color" instead of "color"it will work. How do I highlight just the text if current page is active?
HTML:
<section class="menu">
<ul>
<li><a class="active" href="home.html"> HOME </a></li>
<li> PORTFOLIO
<ul>
<li> illustrations </li>
<li> portraits </li>
<li> environments </li>
<li> sketches </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> STORE
<ul>
<li> society6 </li>
<li> redbubble </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> CONTACT </li>
<li> ABOUT </li>
</ul>
</section>
CSS:
.menu {
height: 29px;
width: 100%;
/*background:orange;*/
}
.menu ul {
width: auto;
list-style-type: none;
font-family: "calibri", "arial";
}
.menu ul li {
position: relative;
display: inline;
float: left;
width: auto;
border-right: 2px solid purple;
margin-left: 10px;
line-height: 12px;
}
.menu ul li:last-child {
border: none;
}
/*removes border after 'about'*/
.menu ul li a {
display: block;
padding: 3px;
color: #854288;
text-decoration: none;
font-size: 20px;
font-weight: strong;
padding-right: 25px;
}
.menu ul li a:hover,
.active {
color: #788d35
/* <-- if I put "background-color" instead of "color" it will work. How do I highlight just the text if current page is active? */
}
.menu ul li ul {
display: none;
}
.menu ul li:hover > ul {
display: block;
position: absolute;
top: 22px;
float: left;
text-align: left;
z-index: 1000;
background-color: white;
}
.menu ul li ul li {
position: relative;
max-width: 140px;
min-width: 140px;
width: 100%;
border: none;
margin-left: -40px;
}
.menu ul li ul li a {
padding: 4px;
margin-left: 1px;
}

Answer 1

Your .active selector is being overruled by the .menu ul li a selector. So you can either change .active selector to .menu ul li a.active or change the color property color: #788d35; to color: #788d35 !important;
See: http://jsfiddle.net/5mpjj/
For more information: http://hungred.com/useful-information/css-priority-order-tips-tricks/