Equal Rights: Struggling Toward Fairness

White man are often treated better than black man, despite the similarities in their
situation and conditions
Black applicants often receive less interviews when they are seeking for a job
Equal rights, or civil rights are terms that refer to the right of every person to equal
protection under the laws and equal access to societys opportunities and public facilities
Are people categorized into groups? Such as racial, gender, and ethnic groups?
Equality Through Law

The 14th
Amendment
No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of
the laws
Equal-protection clause
Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal did not violate the
Constitution as long as the facilities are equal

Became a justification for the

separate and unequal treatment of
African Americans

For example, black children were

forced to attend different schools
than white children
The Supreme Court did not respond
until the last 1930s,

Blacks must be allowed to use

public facilities reserved for whites
in cases where they did not have
separate facilities

The law school in Oklahoma did

admit their first black student into
their regular class but roped off her seat from the rest of the class and
stenciled the word colored on it

She was also forced to eat alone

Segregation in the Schools

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Linda Coral Brown was denied to attend a white public school and
had to go to a black school that is 12 blocks further away

Court declared racial segregation is unconstitutional

In 1954, southern whites oppose the Brown decision and called for Chief
Justice Earl Warrens impeachment

Rioting broke out when Aransass governor called out the states National
Guard to prevent black students from entering Little Rocks high school

Brown Decision banned the segregation of schools, but it did not require
states to take active steps to integrate their schools

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Education

Busing children out of their neighborhoods for the purpose of

achieving racially integrated schools was constitutionally
permissible in cases where previous acts of racial discrimination
contributed to school segregation

A survey indicated that more than 80% of white Americans

disapproved of forced bussing

White people protested: burned down buses and beat black

residents

Unlike Brown, Swann also implied to the North when blacks and
whites lived separately because of discriminatory real estate
practices

Studies found the busing improved school childrens racial attitudes

and improved minority childrens performance

Americas schools are now more ethnically and racially segregated than
they were when busing began
Judicial Tests of Equal Protection

14th
Amendment does not require states to treat their minorities fairly

in applying this
reasonable-basis test
, the courts require the governments
to show that a particular law is reasonable

does not apply to racial or ethnic classifications

Any law that treats people differently because of race of ethnicity is

subjected to the
strict-scrutiny test,
which presumes that the law is
unconstitutional unless government can provide a compelling basis for it

It eliminated race and ethnicity as permissible classification

Supreme Courts position is that race and national origin are

suspect
classifications
laws that classify people differently on the basis of their
race or ethnicity are presumed to have discrimination as their purpose

Loving v. Virginia

Virginia prohibits people with different races marrying

When a Native American and an African American got married in

Washington DC and retuned to Virginia, they were arrested

Virginia claimed that this law does not violate the equal protection
because both races got into prison for five years

Supreme Court concluded that the law was based on solely on

invidious racial discrimination and that any such classification
was unconstitutional

Women began to assert their rights in the 1970s

Court held that men and women can be treated differently when the
question is substantially related to the achievement of important
governmental objectives

Rostker v. Goldbery
Court upheld such a classification, ruling that the male-only
draft registration law served the important objective of
excluding omen from involuntary combat duty

United States v. Virginia

Virginia had a male-only military school, but also provided a
female military school
Court ruled invalid because it failed to provide an exceedingly
persuasive argument for Virginias policy
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
14th
Amendment prohibits discrimination by government but not from private
parties
1964 Civil Rights Act

the legislation entitles all persons to equal access to public

accommodations

also bars discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, or national orgin
in the hiring, promotion, and wages of employees

A few forms of jobs discrimination are still lawful

The Black Civil Rights Movement

Parks, a black person who left work and took a bus home, was ordered to
give her seat to a while passenger when the white seats were all
occupied. She
refused and got
arrested

Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr.
led a boycott
against this action

I have a dream
that my four
little children
will one day
live in a nation
where they will
not be judged
by the color of their skins but by the content of their character

President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Many restaurants, hotels, and other establishments refused to serve

black customers

Discrimination in job decisions is harder to prove

The Movement for Womens Rights

Women were forbidden to vote, to hold public office, or to served on

juries

Women essentially lost her identity when she marries

Supreme Court declared a wifes adultery a violation of the

husbands property rights

Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth fought for womens rights

15th
Amendment declared only that the right to vote could not be
abridged on account of race or color

Not until the 19th

Amendment did women acquire the right to vote

Congress rejected the proposal but eventually approved the

Equal
Rights Amendment

Equal Pay Act of 1963

prohibits sex discrimination in salary and
wages
Hispanic Americans and the Farm Workers Strike

Migrants were working long hours for low pay, living in shacks without
electricity or plumbing, and were unwelcomed

The Hispanic civil rights movement lacked the scope of the black civil
rights movement but brought about some policy change
Native Americans and Their Long-Delayed Rights

Until Congress changed the policy in 1924, Native Americans by law were
denied citizenship

Native Americans leaders organized the Trail of Broken Treaties

The government agreed to establish a committee to investigate their

grievances

In 1974, Congress passed legislation that granted Native Americans living

on reservations greater control over federal programs that affect them
Asian American and Immigration

Congress in 1892 suspended Asian immigration on grounds that Asian

were inferior

Lau v. Nichols

Supreme Court ruled that placing public school children for whom
English is a second language in regular classroom without special
assistance violates the Civil Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Southern whites kept blacks from registering and voting
Supreme Court declared the white-only primary elections were
unconstitutional
Voting Rights Act of 1965
forbids discrimination in voting and registration
League of United Latin American Voters v. Perry

Texas government drawn boundaries in a way designed to make

Hispanics a minority of the voters within the district

The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional, but also did not allow
election districts to be created for the sole purpose of giving control to a
minority group
The Civil Rights Act of 1968
A building owner cannot refuse to sell or rent housing because of a persons
race, religion, ethnicity, or sex
Banks also contributed to housing segregation by
redlining
refusing to grant
mortgage loans in certain neighborhoods typically those with large black
populations
Affirmative Action
Changes in law seldom have large or immediate effects on how people behave
Affirmative action refers to deliberate efforts to provide full and equal
opportunities in employment education, and other areas for members of
traditionally disadvantaged groups
Affirmative actions only applies to organizations that receive federal funding
or contracts
If an organization grants a disproportionate share to white males, it must
share that its necessary and not discriminatory
Affirmative action was established by presidential action
Equality of result

Other major civil rights policies had sought to eliminate

de jure
discriminationdiscrimination based on law
Affirmative action policy sought to alleviate de facto discriminationthe
condition whereby historically disadvantaged groups have fewer opportunities
and benefits because of prejudice and economic circumstances
University of California Regents v. Bakke

Alan Bakke wanted to attend a medical schools that admitted minority

applicants with significant lower test scores

The Court ruled that the medical school had violated Bakkes right to
equal protection
Adarand v. Pena

The court overturned an earlier ruling that had upheld a federal policy
that set aside a certain percentage of federally funded construction
projects for minority-owned firms

Pas discrimination in a particular industry cannot justify granting an

advantage to minority-owned construction firms that have not been the
direct victims of this discrimination
Ricci v. DeStefano

Supreme Court held that an organization, after establishing an equal

opportunity program, has to abide by it even if minorities are adversely
affected
Fisher v. University of Texas

Some analysts believe could end race preferences in higher education

A white student sued the university for not admitting her because she is
white
The Continuing Struggle for Equality

African Americans
Poverty is the persistent problem
40% live under government-defined poverty line
African Americans accused of crime are more likely than white Americans to
be convicted
More than half of black children grow up in a single-parent family, and 8%

grow up in a home where neither parent is present

One area in which African Americans have made substantial progress since the
1960s is elective office
Women
Women are six times more likely today than a half century ago to work outside
of home
There are currently more women attending college than men
Family and Medical Leave Act

The employee must be given the original or an equivalent job position

with equivalent pay and benefits
Native Americans
State governments have no direct authority over federal reservations, and the
federal governments authority is defined by the terms of its treaty with the
particular tribe
Native Americans average income is still far below the national average
Hispanic Americans
Ten million or more are in the states illegally.
The state of Arizona exacted enacted legislation that called for police to check
for evidence of legal status whenever in the course of duty they stopped a
person for another reason.
Supreme Court upheld the rule, claiming that staes cannot interfere with the
federal governments constitutional authority to determine immigration policy
More than 4000 Hispanic Americans hold public office

Roughly 24 Hispanic Americans currently serve in the HOR

Asian Americans
Asian Americans have the highest percentage of two parent families of any
racial group.
According to U.S. government figures, Asian Americans account for about 5
percent of professionals and technicians.
Bobby Jindal was a leading figure of Asian American politician
Gays and Lesbians
Romer v. Evans

A Colorado constitutional amendment that nullified all existing and any

new legal protections for homosexuals
Lawrence v. Texas

Court invalidated state laws that prohibited sexual relations between

consenting adults of the same sex
Dont Ask, Dont Tell Repeal Act

As long as they do not reveal their sexual preference, they could enlist and
stay in the service
Defense of Marriage Act

Authorizes states to deny marital rights to a same-sex couple that has

been granted these rights by another state.
Other Disadvantaged Groups
Age of Discrimination Act of 1975 and Age Discrimination in Employment Act
of 1967

Prohibit discrimination against older workers

Age discrimination is not protected by the Constitution
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975

Congress required that schools provide all children with a free and
appropriate education

Discrimination: Superficial Differences, Deep Divisions

According to the book

An American Dilemma
, irony exists between deep-rooted
racism and a country that idealized equality

Discrimination = American curse