Civil Rights The Fight for Equality

Civil Rights v. Civil Liberties

Equality and Ethnicity Black-White relations defined the civil rights movement in America They set the pattern for what other groups did to fight for their rights 14th Amendment guaranteed due process under the law 15th Amendment gave African- Americans the right to vote In many places, especially the deep South, African Americans didn’t get equal rights until recently The 14th Amendment, Racism, and the Civil Rights Movement What were race relations like when the Civil Rights Movement started? https://vimeo.com/168014736

How did they fight for Rights? Legislation – campaigning in the courts SCOTUS originally took a narrow view of “equal protection of the laws” from the 14th Amendment Plessy v. Ferguson – separate but equal was fine NAACP waged a battle against this doctrine (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) - Lobbied Congress, Publicized Grievances, Fought legal battles Brown v. Board of Education – overruled Plessy v. Ferguson Class Action Suit – Applied to all black children in segregated schools Many places did not enforce the ruling – in the South especially Nuances between desegregation and Integration De Jure Segregation – segregation by law – clearly unconstitutional De Facto Segregation – segregation as a result of housing and other in place institutions (like school district lines) Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education – approved busing and redrawing of district lines to stop de facto segregation

How did they fight for Rights? The Campaign in Congress – getting new civil rights laws out of Congress was difficult They needed to mobilize public opinion and get civil rights on the political agenda Civil Disobedience – Opposing a law one considers unjust by peacefully disobeying it and accepting the resultant punishment The Freedom Riders were the most famous example of this campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcvsWXrS2PI

Major Civil Rights Laws 1957 – made it illegal to prevent a person from voting in a federal election. Created Civil Rights Commission 1964 – Made it more difficult to use devices like literacy tests to bar African-Americans from voting, barred racial discrimination in most public places, further desegregated schools, banned racial discrimination in the workplace and to receive federal funding (welfare)  1965 – suspended use of literacy tests (Voting Rights Act of 1965) 1968 – banned racial discrimination in housing purchases  1972 – prohibited sex discrimination in education programs  1988 – If any organization receives federal aid, they cannot discriminate based on race, sex, age, or disability  1991 – Made it easier to sue over job discrimination 

Women and Civil Rights  Difference between African- American civil rights and women's African-Americans were fighting against a legal tradition that tried to keep them subservient Women were fighting against a tradition that claimed to protect their well-being  Movement started in Seneca Falls in 1848 Get the right to vote in 1920 with 19th amendment  The status of women didn't really change until "rosie the riveter" in WWII Men were at war and women needed to go to work 

The Feminist Movement  Started with the publication of "The Feminist Mystique"  Congress reacted to the movement by passing laws that required equal pay, prohibited discrimination, especially against pregnant women in the workplace  3 Standards the Supreme Court adopted Reasonableness – when the government treats some groups different than others, they have to do so reasonably Intermediate scrutiny – the reasonable differences that are claimed to not need to be looked at with strict scrutiny  Strict Scutiny – Some cases of treating groups differently are inherently suspect – like treating white and blacks the same 

Landmark Cases  Reed v. Reed – Gender Discrimination violates the equal protection clause of the constitution Craig v. Boren – Gender discrimination is only justified if it serves important government objectives  Rostker v. Goldberg – Congress can draft men without drafting women  US v. Virginia – State cannot finance an all-male military school

Privacy and Abortion Griswold v. Connecticut – right to privacy – bans state law against selling contraceptives  Roe v. Wade – state laws against abortion were unconstitutional  Webster v. Reproductive Health Services – allowed states to ban abortions from public hospitals  Planned parenthood v. Casey – reaffirmed Roe v. Wade  Gonzalez v. Carhart – Federal law may ban certain forms of partial- birth abortion

Affirmative Action Programs designed to increase minority participation in some institutions by taking positive steps ti appoint more minority-group members Equality of results v. Equality of opportunity  Many argue that affirmative action is reverse discrimination If it is wrong to discriminate against a group, then it is wrong to discriminate in favor of them

Affirmative Action – Landmark Cases Regents of the University of California v. Bakke – quotas of minorities being admitted to schools was unconstitutional, but goals of diversity can take race into account  United Steelworkers v. Weber – upheld the use of race in an employment agreement  Richmond v. Croson – Affirmative action plans must be judged by strict scrutiny  Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger – Numerical benefits cannot be used to admit minorities into college, but race can be a "plus factor" in decisions Parents v. Seattle School District – Race cannot be used to decide which students may attend especially popular high schools because there is no compelling goal 

LGBTQ and the Constitution At first, decisions were with the states – that is why certain states passed same-sex marriage laws before Obergefell  Lawrence v. Texas – State law may not ban sexual relations between same-sex partners  Boy Scouts of America v. Dale – A private organization may ban gays from its membership  Obergefell v. Hodges – state laws against same-sex marriage are unconstitutional (Class action)

Rights of the disabled ADA – Americans with Disablities Act 1990 – extended the same protections given to women and minority groups to disabled persons  Discrimination is illegal and businesses now have to become ADA compliant ensuring equal access for disable persons.  Federally mandated 

Overall Discrimination

Multiple Choice Practice In Plessy v. Ferguson, SCOTUS ruled that state imposed racial segregation is constitutional based on the  Clear and present danger doctrine  Separate but equal doctrine  Dangerous tendency doctrine  Privileges and immunities clause  Necessary and proper clause  The Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides for protections against the disabled, is an example of  State supremacy  Horizontal federalism  Affirmative action  Dual federalism  A federal mandate