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 significance of the 14th
Amendment is that it aimed to nationalize the
meaning of civil rights through the Incorporation Doctrine
The slaughterhouse cases

The Supreme Court dismissed the suits and ruled that intent of the 14th

Amendment was to protect the freed slaves, not to incorporate the Bill of
Rights
Civil Rights act was challenged and the Supreme Court ruled the establishment
of legality of access to public accommodations, theaters, hotels, and other
public facilities unconstitutional

14th
Amendment applied only to the states operating under cover of the
law
Even after the Supreme Court case nationalized the Bill of Rights in the Gitlow
case, it reversed itself in a significant due process case, Palko v Connecticut
Key Court Cases
Gitlow v New Yorkfreedom of speech

Near v Minnesotafreedom of the press

Powell v Alabamaaccess to a lawyer in capital cases
De Jonge v Oregonfreedom of assembly
Cantwell v Connecticutfreedom of religion
Wolf v Coloradounreasonable search and seizure
Criteria for the Supreme Court to use the principle of incorporation in their
decisions to promote the 14th
Amendment due process rights and equal
protection under the law

Reasonable classification

The rational basis test

The strict scrutiny test

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
Richmond v. Corson

Created the impetus for Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1991

Established procedures for evaluating the legitimacy of affirmative action

programs

Security test evaluates programs based on racial classification

Congress has more power than states

When the state takes action, it must do so based on evidence that

past discriminatory practice existed

Must be specific and apply to past injustices

States may develop affirmative actions programs narrowly

tailorednecessary to break down patters of deliberate exclusion
Gratz v. Bollinger; Grutter v. Bollinger

University relied too much on a quota system

unconstitutional

University relied on a broad-based policy of using race as a basis for

admissions

constitutonal
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
Brown v Board of Education
is the most significant Supreme Court decision in
the history of the Court
Civil Rights Act of 1964 made discrimination in public accommodations illegal
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US
1965 Voting Rights Act
Civil Rights Act of 1968 called the Open Housing Act, made illegal the practice
of selling real estate based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex
California Board of Regers v. Bakke:
Reverse Discrimination

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
Civil Rights Act of 1964 had an anti-sex discrimination provisions; it was
extended by the Education Act of 1972
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.
Dont Ask; Dont Tell

President Bill Clinton directed the military to follow a Dont ask, dont
tell, dont pursue policy

Allowed homosexuals to enlist and serve in the military as long as they

did not disclose the fact that they were gay

Obama signaled his support for the repeal of Dont Ask, Dont tell

Gay groups and gay servicemen and women who were discharged filed
court petitions to find the law unconstitutional

Obama urged Congress to pass legislation repealing the Dont Ask, Dont
Tell policy

Few concrete victories, gay activists groups have been outspoken in their
quest for equal protection under the law
Gay Marriage

Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage were legal in 2004

Congress passed and Bill Clinton singed the Defense of Marriage Act of
1996

allow states not to recognize gay marriage from other states and
made illegal any federal benefits to states that did allow gay marriages,
proponents of the amendment and President George W. Bush felt that its
passage would be the only way to protect the institution of marriage

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
Senior Citizens

American Association of Retired Persons

Age Discrimination Acts

Disabled Americans

In 1975, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act was passed

Age Discrimination
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