Ch. 21—Equality Under the Law

--Animal Farm, George Orwell Brainstorm: What do you think the following quote means? “All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” --Animal Farm, George Orwell

Definitions De facto Segregation – Segregation even if no law requires it Ex. Housing patterns De jure Segregation – Segregation by law, with legal sanction Ex. “Jim Crow Laws”, Plessy v. Ferguson

Social Injustice: Broken Promises 1st Amendment rights & equality under the law for everyone has not always been a reality. Dred Scott Decision (p. 800) 1. Supreme Court case involving a slave named Dred Scott (Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857). 2. Court ruled that blacks, free or slaves, had no rights under the Constitution.

Civil War Amendments 13th Amendment—abolishes slavery 14th Amendment—gave citizenship to blacks (reversed Dred Scott decision) 15th Amendment—right to vote for former slaves (males only!!) These amendments were put into action by Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Jim Crow Laws Even after slavery ended, most blacks were poor and dependent upon whites. Tenant farmers and sharecroppers. Laws were passed to keep blacks from voting (Ex: Poll tax, Literacy Test, Grandfather Clause) Some groups originated to intimidate others- Ku Klux Klan. Jim Crow Laws- any law that promoted segregation --Not all southerners agree

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Homer Plessy sits on a “white-only” railroad car as a form of civil disobedience (he is only 1/8 black). Supreme Court supported the Louisiana law. Court said that separate facilities were ok as long as they were equal. Established “separate but equal”= segregation This sets a precedent for nearly the next 60 yrs.

Group Assignment Get in groups of 4-5 people You will be assigned a group of people who have been discriminated against: --African-Americans --Asian Americans --Native Americans --Hispanic Americans --Women P. 595—599—read your section and summarize the information. New groups will be formed, with 1 person from each of the groups representing and each will share their information as others take notes. Notes will be turned in for a grade.

School Desegregation Education was important for blacks --education opportunities were limited --schools were segregated—separate, but not equal --usually poor, old, and overcrowded schools Blacks turn to the Supreme Court --Courts didn’t overturn “separate but equal”; they attempted to make facilities equal --University of Texas Law School: black student admitted because of unequal facilities

Do these schools look equal?

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) Important case in school desegregation Oliver Brown wanted his daughter to go to a school 7 blocks away (white school) School officials denied his request NAACP helps him take his case to the Supreme Court Court declares racial segregation unconstitutional --this overturns Plessy v. Ferguson --said separate educational facilities were not equal 1 year later, schools were supposed to begin desegregation Some public schools closed, while private schools were being set up

Little Rock, Arkansas (1957) 9 black students were to enter Central High School— “Little Rock Nine” University of Miss. (1962) Civil Rights Act of 1964 --Justice department could bring legal action against discriminating schools

Civil Rights Movement School desegregation was a victory in the fight for equal rights. However, segregation was still part of life. 1955- Rosa Parks gets on a city bus in Montgomery, AL. She is ordered to the “colored” section of the bus and refuses. Dr. Martin Luther King leads a boycott against the city bus system. Supreme Ct. declares it illegal to segregate on public transportation.

Civil Rights Acts 1964- outlawed racial discrimination in all public accommodations. 1968- federal criminal laws dealing w/ the violation of a person’s civil rights. Discrimination was a showing of slavery- outlawed by the 13th Amendment.

Affirmative Action A policy that requires most employers take positive steps (affirmative action) to remedy the effects of past discrimination. The policy applies to agencies of the Federal, State and Local governments and any private employer who sells goods or services to any agency of the Federal Government.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) Allan Bakke, a white male, had been denied admission to that university’s medical school. (16 of the 100 seats available were set aside for nonwhite students). Said it was “reverse discrimination.”

California v. Bakke Ruling… By a 5-4 majority, the Court held that Bakke had been denied equal protection and should be admitted to the medical school. Affirmative Action programs would no longer be needed in a society in which no one alive has experienced past discrimination.