Civil Rights

What are they? Who has needed to fight them?

African Americans Women Native Americans Hispanic Americans Asian Americans Older Americans Disabled Americans Gays and Lesbians

Rarely achieved a greater measure of justice without a struggle

African Americans

Brown v. Board (1954) 1963 televised march in Birmingham March on Washington for Jobs and

Freedom Civil Rights Act of 1964

Public facilities and no job discrimination Voting Rights Act of 1965 Political representation today

Still below proportion…but rising sharply

Women

1848—Seneca Falls—Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Nineteenth Amendment Equal Pay Act of 1963 Title IX—1972 Equal Credit Act of 1974 Not close politically to equality Gender gap Educational abilities today Glass ceiling Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

Native Americans

We haven’t been very nice… Lawsuits to reclaim lands Reservations College, life expectancy, poverty, infant

mortality Promote self-government and economic

self-sufficiency 1970s—Bureau of Indian Affairs and

Wounded Knee Gaming Casinos

Hispanic Americans

Farmworkers’ strikes Grapes and lettuce Cesar Chavez

Bilingual ballots and education What are current controversies with this

group? Growing political force Lean Democrat (except Cuban-Americans) Liberal on economy and conservative on

social

Asian Americans

Late 1800s—railroads and mines Lau v. Nichols (1974)

Regular classrooms and 14th Amendment Upwardly mobile Underrepresented politically

Older Americans

Age Discrimination Act of 1975 Age Discrimination in Employment

Act of 1967 Mandatory retirement ages are not

OK In most cases

Unlike previous groups we discussed, age discrimination not prohibited by U.S. Constitution

Disabled Americans

Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990

Access Not a constitutionally protected

group Stores and delivery?

Gays and Lesbians

Romer v. Evans (1996) Had tried to eliminate protections for

homosexuals Military—don’t ask, don’t tell Vermont—civil unions Massachusetts—legal marriage California battle Most states ban it constitutionally

when offered the chance

Equal Protection

Thanks to the 14th Amendment When are inequalities allowed?

Reasonable-basis test 21 and 18 year olds drinking Not suspect category

Intermediate scrutiny Gender Almost suspect category

Strict-scrutiny test Race and ethnicity Have to prove that it is necessary

Equal Access

14th Amendment does not prohibit discrimination by private parties

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Equal access to restaurants, bars, hotels, theaters, gas

stations, etc. Civil Rights Act of 1968

Cannot refuse to sell or rent housing to someone based on race, religion, ethnicity, or gender

Voting Rights Act of 1965 White-only primaries, poll taxes (24th Amendment),

literacy test Renewed many times…2006 League of United Latin American Voters v. Perry (2006) Shaw v. Hunt (1996) Easley v. Cromartie (2001)

Equality of Result?

De facto discrimination v. de jure discrimination

Affirmative Action At first, burden of proof was on women That changes in the 1960s Disproportionate granting of

opportunities to white males is a result of necessity

Affirmative Action Cases

University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978) Quotas are not OK…but racial considerations

are Adarand v. Pena (1995)

Contract issues Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

Undergraduate policy not OK because specific weight given to race (20/150 points)

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) Law school policy is OK

For Thursday…

Think about the differences between the Michigan cases…does it make sense? Is it fair?

How do civil rights and civil liberties overlap? Should the government prohibit racist language and hate speech or are these protected by the First Amendment?

How do the cases R.A.V. v. St. Paul and Wisconsin v. Mitchell distinguish the difference between an individual's intentions and actions?

What should the goal of equal rights be in our country? How can we get closer to achieving actual equality?