1. Civil Rights
Civil rights is the Idea that government should protect from discrimination based upon race, gender, religion and sex
The rights and privileges guaranteed under the equal protection and due process clauses of the 5th and 14th amendments
For much of our history the law allowed unfair treatment and required unequal treatment for certain groups.

2. LBGT Rights- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered
LBGT rights were founded after the Stonewall Rebellion in June 1969
Hate crimes rose in reaction to the movement, most infamous Matthew Shepard case in Wyoming
United States v. Windsor ruled the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 5th Amendment
Obergefell v Hodges 2015 ruled the fundamental right for same sex couples to marry.

3. Slavery and the Constitution
Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857: ruled slaves were NOT citizens and therefore had no standing to sue, African Americans had no legal rights
During Reconstruction ( ) a series of Amendments were passed to protect the rights of African Americans
13th - Ended Slavery
14th - Granted Citizenship (gave due process and equal protection)
15th – Every Man had the right to vote
After Reconstruction ends, Southern States created Black Codes and Jim Crow laws to limit and segregate public places such as schools, jobs and parks. De jure segregation became legally mandated.

4. State and Local governments along with the KKK found ways to limit African Americans freedoms
White Primary
Literacy Tests
Poll Tax
Grandfather Clauses
Plessy v Ferguson 1896: ruled that that separate but equal doctrine was not a violation of the 14th amendment.

5. Civil Rights Movement- 20th Century
NAACP fought against the separate but equal doctrine in the early 20th century
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 1954: ruled that segregated schools violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment
Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks used civil disobedience as way to end segregation in the U.S.

6. Civil Rights Act 1964
Outlaws discrimination in voter registration in states
Bans discrimination in public accomadations, restaurants, hotels, theaters
Prohibits state and local governments from banning access to public facilities on the basis of race, religion or ethnicity
Title VII established equality in employment opportunities
Voter Rights Act 1965: eliminate discrimination in voting practices
banned voter registration practices such as literacy test
Thurgood Marshall --Becomes first African American named to U.S. Supreme Court 1967 

7. Women’s Rights Movement
Seneca Falls Convention ---Declaration of Sentiments
19th Amendment- Women’s suffrage
Title IX –prohibits sex based discrimination in educational institutions
Equal Pay Act – prohibited employers from paying women less
Intersectionality- women face multiple forms of oppression

8. Affirmative Action – Is It Constitutional ?
The intentional efforts to recruit , hire, train and promote women and minorities to diversify the workplace and educational institutions
Bakke v. Regents of University of California – Schools can take race into consideration as one of several factors for admission but cannot use it as sole consideration