Civil Rights:THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY

Introduction: Defining Civil RightsCivil Rights

14th Amendment issues

Action required of the government to ensure equality

Protects against discriminatory treatment

What Types of

Discriminatory Treatment

Have Groups Faced?

• Racial Discrimination

• Gender Discrimination

• Discrimination based on

age, disability, sexual

orientation and other

factors

What does equality mean?Conceptions of Equality

◦ Equal opportunity = same chances?

OR◦ Equal results = same rewards?

The Constitution and Inequality◦ Equality is not in the original Constitution.

◦ First mention of equality in the 14th Amendment: forbids states to deny “…equal protection of the laws”◦ But what does this mean?

The Struggle for Racial EqualityKey Milestones During The Era of Slavery

◦ Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)◦ Slaves had no rights.

◦ Invalidated Missouri Compromise

◦ The Civil War

◦ The Thirteenth Amendment◦ Ratified after Union won the Civil War

◦ Outlawed slavery

◦ Fourteenth Amendment

◦ Fifteenth Amendment

The Struggle for Racial Equality

The Era of Reconstruction and “Resegregation”◦Jim Crow laws◦Relegated African Americans to separate facilities

◦Key question: What would the Supreme Court do about segregation?

The Struggle for Equality: Segregation, Equality and the Supreme Court

Conflicting ideas of what it means to treat people equally has presented problems over the years for our Supreme Court

When the SC must decide cases where people claim to have been treated "differently" in violation of the 14th, justices need to determine whether different treatment leads to inequality. Plessy v. Ferguson was their first attempt to do this.

The Struggle for Racial Equality:Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

The Supreme Court rules in favor of the state of Louisiana, declaring that the “Separate Car Act” was constitutional

Establishes “Separate but equal” doctrine: Segregation of blacks and whites was constitutional as long as both have access to equal facilities

The Court’s reasoning: The Constitution and the law are not responsible for promoting social equality, just equal treatment under the law. Do you agree?

The Struggle for Racial Equality:Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Chief Justice Earl Warren argues that “in the field of public education…separate but equal has no place.”

“Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

The case overturns Plessy v. Ferguson and ends segregation in public schools

The Struggle for Racial Equality:Brown II (1955)

BUT, Brown brought up questions…◦ How quickly should schools be desegregated?◦ What can the Supreme Court do to enforce its decisions?◦ This question was never addressed in the first Brown case!

In 1955, the Supreme Court rules that a “prompt and reasonable start” to desegregation should take place “with all deliberate speed.”

What does that mean? “With all deliberate speed”?????

Desegregating Schools:◦ Busing of students became the solution for two kinds of segregation:

◦ de jure, “by law” segregation◦ de facto, “in reality” segregation

(Furman Pic)

The Struggle for Racial EqualityCivil Rights Act of 1964

Made racial discrimination illegal in hotels, restaurants, and other public accommodation

Forbade employment discrimination based on race◦ Created Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to monitor and enforce rules

Strengthened voting right legislation

Provided for the withholding of federal funds for discriminatory state and local programs

Authorized Department of Justice to initiate lawsuits to desegregate public facilities and schools

The Struggle for Racial EqualityImpact of Civil Rights Act of 1964

Education◦ Authorized the federal government to bring action against school districts who failed to comply with

Brown

Employment◦ Title VII of the act prohibited employment discrimination based on race, gender, sex, age, and national

origin

The Struggle for Racial EqualityThe Right to Vote

◦ Suffrage: the legal right to vote

◦ Fifteenth Amendment: extended suffrage to African Americans

Restricted Black Voting Rights During Jim Crow◦ Poll Taxes: small taxes levied on the right to vote

◦ Literacy tests

◦ White Primary: Only whites were allowed to vote in the party primaries.

The Struggle for Racial EqualityThe Right to Vote

◦ Twenty-fourth Amendment (1962): eliminated poll taxes for federal elections

◦ Voting Rights Act of 1965: helped end formal and informal barriers to voting◦ Ended discriminatory voter registration tests

◦ Authorized federal voting registrars to sign up black voters

The Struggle for Racial Equality:Affirmative Action

A policy designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of some previously disadvantaged group. ◦ Implemented in 1965 by Johnson’s executive order

The Struggle for Racial Equality:Affirmative Action

In education

Regents of the University of CA v. Bakke (1978)◦ First SC case to address constitutionality of AA, brought up issue of reverse discrimination

◦ Court rejected the university’s use of “quotas,” which reserved a fixed number of seats for racial minorities

◦ HOWEVER, Court declared affirmative action programs are constitutional if they consider race as a "plus" in the application process.

The Struggle for Racial Equality:Affirmative Action

In education (cont’d)

Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)◦ Gratz: Supreme Court struck down U Michigan’s undergraduate “point system” that awarded points to

minority applicants because race became a deciding factor that did not treat applicants as individuals

The Struggle for Racial Equality:Affirmative Action

In education (cont’d)

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)◦ Grutter: BUT, allowed University of Michigan Law School to consider race as one of many factors

because diversity is a compelling interest in higher education

◦ Significance: Court acknowledges that AA programs are acceptable and diversity is a legitimate goal in education, BUT race can not be the predominant factor (no quotas) AND applicants must be treated as individuals, not as members of a race

The Struggle for Equality:Affirmative Action

In employment

United Steelworks v. Weber (1979)◦ Quotas to remedy past discrimination are constitutional.

Adarand Constructors v. Pena (1995)◦ To be constitutional, affirmative action must be “narrowly tailored” to meet a “compelling governmental

interest.”

◦ Did not ban affirmative action, but severely limited its reach

Today’s Key QuestionsWhat other groups have historically struggled for equal treatment under the law? Which groups continue to fight for their civil rights?

◦ What types of discrimination have these groups faced?

◦ What governmental action has been taken in addressing these civil rights issues?

The Struggle for Civil Rights: Other GroupsOther minorities

Women

Disabled

“Older” Americans

Gays and Lesbians

The Struggle for Gender EqualityEarly Women’s Rights: The Battle for the Vote

◦ Nineteenth Amendment: extended suffrage to women in 1920

◦ Fragile alliance of diverse women’s groups quickly disintegrated

◦ Widespread women’s rights activity would not emerge until 1960s

The Struggle for Gender EqualityEquality Under the Law

◦ National Organization for Women (NOW) pushed for Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) from 1923 to 1980s◦ Passes in both houses of Congress in 1972

◦ States fail to ratify over the next eight years (35 vote yes, 38 needed)

◦ Support for amendment has died out as Supreme Court has extended 14th

Amendment to women

The Struggle for Gender EqualityEquality in Education and Employment

◦ Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964◦ Prohibits gender discrimination by private and public employers

◦ Used to fight sexual harassment

◦ Title IX of 1972 Educational Amendments◦ Prevents educational institutions receiving federal funds from discriminating against female students

◦ Often used to ensure equal access, resources and funding for sports teams

The Struggle for Gender EqualityOther issues:

◦ Women in the military

◦ Equal pay

◦ Sexual harassment◦ Harris v. Forklift Systems (1993): Sexual harassment violates Civil Rights Act of 1964 when the workplace environment becomes

“hostile or abusive”

◦ Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998): The employer is responsible for preventing and eliminating harassment at work

◦ Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education (1999): Schools can be held liable!

The Struggle for Equality: Other Minority Groups

Hispanic Americans

Largest and fasting growing minority group

Controversial issues◦ Should the government provide services to those that enter the country illegally?

◦ Bilingual education

The Struggle for Equality: Other Minority Groups

Asian Americans

Korematsu v. United States (1944): Court declares Japanese internment camps constitutional due to a compelling state interest to ensure national security during a time of war

Controversial Civil Rights Issues Today

The Struggle for Equality: Disabled Americans

What discrimination have Americans with disabilities faced?

Government Intervention: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990◦ Disabled person = someone with a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more life

activities

◦ Guarantees access to public facilities, employment, and communication services

◦ Employers/schools must acquire or modify work equipment, adjust schedules, or make facilities accessible

The Struggle for Equality: Disabled Americans

Controversy: Which ailments are considered true disabilities?◦ Since 1999, the Supreme Court has redefined and limited the scope of the ADA. Workers are

not “disabled” if their conditions can be corrected with medication or devices

The Struggle for Equality: Older Americans and Age Discrimination

Older Americans have traditionally faced discrimination in workplace. Why?

Government Intervention: Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)◦ Prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of age unless is a bona fide requirement

◦ Targets workers over 40

◦ To win a lawsuit, the plaintiff must show that an employer’s action (i.e. firing) was motivated by age

The Struggle for Equality: Gays and Lesbians

What challenges have gays and lesbians faced in their struggle for equality?

Government interventions◦ Bowers v. Hardwick (1986): Allowed states to ban homosexual relations

◦ Lawrence v. Texas (2003): Overturned Bowers◦ Private homosexual acts are protected by the Constitution

◦ Gay marriage: Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) officially legalized gay marriage across states

Controversy: Do civil rights protections apply here? Do companies have to provide services to gay couples?

Civil Rights Wrap-upEquality is essential to any democracy!

◦ Racial minorities and women have struggled for equality since the beginning of the republic.

Our government has taken action in various ways (legislation, amendments, court rulings) in order to ensure equality

Civil rights have expanded to new groups and issues of equality continue to be the subject of debate