CIVIL RIGHTS AND

PUBLIC POLICYAfrican Americans…

EQUAL PROTECTION TO ALL 14th Amendment: aimed to nationalize meaning of civil

rights Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Homer Plessy challenged LA state law creating 2 classes of RR fares

S Court, using the fact that the passenger train had only an intrastate route, ruled that separate but equal facilities were constitutional under equal protection

Court reversed Gitlow v. New York with Palko v Connecticut (1937) Concept of applying 5th & 14th Amendments’ due process

provisions to citizens who felt their privileges and immunities were violated by the state was rejected

Concept of ordered liberty became criterion for incorporation of the Bill of Rights

How 14th Amendment is basis of civil rights movement Reverse Plessy with Brown v. Board But even before Brown, significant 1st Amendment rights

and due process cases started process of incorporation Gitlow v New York (1925) – freedom of speech Near v. Minnesota (1931) – freedom of the press Powell v Alabama (1932) – access to a lawyer in capital cases DeJonge v Oregon (1937) – freedom of assembly Cantwell v Connecticut (1940) – freedom of religion Wolf v Colorado (1949) – unreasonable search and seizure

After Brown Activist S Court used principle of incorporation in

decisions to promote 14th Amendment due process Criteria:

Reasonable classification, distinctions drawn between persons and groups

Rational basis test, if the legislative intent of a law is reasonable and legitimate and serves the public good

Strict scrutiny test, places burden on states to prove laws that discriminate fulfill “a compelling gov’tal interest”

AFRICAN AMERICANS

Brown v Board of Education (1954) “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate

but equal’ has no place…. Segregation is a denial of the equal protection of the laws”

Called on states to end segregation practice using “all deliberate speed” But survey on 50th anniversary many school districts still have not

fulfilled the vision Put an end to de jure segregation (segregation by law) But states/localities able to continue practice through de

facto segregation Segregation of schools and other public facilities through

circumstance w/ no laws supporting it

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Made discrimination in public accommodations

(i.e. hotels) illegal Affirmed by Heart of Atlanta Motel v US (1964)

Hotel claimed Title II provision of the Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Protected right of African Americans to vote & made

provisions for federal assistance in the registration process

Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Open Housing Act)

Practice of selling real estate based on race, color, religion, national origin, or

sex illegal

Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenberg County Schools (1971) Busing was legal means of achieving “all deliberate

speed” Busing contributed to civil rights of African Americans,

BUT civil disobedience, racial riots, stonewalling attempts by public officials slowed process of civil rights movement

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION California Board of Regents v Bakke (1978)

5-4 decision Bakke, a white denied admission to medical school was

victim of “reverse discrimination” b/c of racial quotas violating his equal protection

BUT Race cannot be used as sole basis for determining admission, but Constitution & Civil Rights Act of 1964 could be used as a criterion for affirmative action programs Upholds idea of affirmative action

LBJ directed all federally supported programs to adopt criterion

Webster v Kaiser Aluminum (1979) Upheld affirmative action in private industry if program

corrected past injustices

1988: Congress passed civil rights legislation permitting gov’t to take away federal funds from colleges that discriminate

1991: Congress passed a Civil Rights Act placing burden on the employer to prove hiring practices are not discriminatory in nature Responded to previous S Court decisions that placed

responsibility of initiating antidiscrimination suits on the individual

2003: 2 cases involving Univ. of Michigan undergraduate & law schools Principles in Bakke were still valid Gratz v Bollinger: admission practice was unconstitutional

b/c relied too heavily on quota system Grutter v Bollinger: admission practice was constitutional

b/c relied on broad-based policy of using race as a basis for admissions

Continued practice of using race as

basis for admission

Despite significant advances for African Americans… Still perception 2 societies exist in US

Point first established by Kerner Commission after rioting and looting in cities in 1968

1988 Newsweek poll showed whites believed much more than African Americans that African Americans were making gains, being helped by gov’t, being treated fairly by criminal justice system

1994 poll in USA Today indicated there were major differences between white & minority attitudes in key areas of civil rights

Richmond v Corson (1989) created cause for congress to pass Civil Rights Act of 1991 Established following procedures for evaluating legitimacy of

affirmative action programs Scrutiny test evaluates programs based on racial classification Congress has more power than states through provisions of the

14th Amendment to enforce equal protection provisions When state takes action, it must do so based on evidence that

past discriminatory practice existed Affirmative action remedies must be specific and apply to past

injustices States may develop affirmative action programs