Civil Rights: The Struggle for Equality

Unit 6: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, Lesson 5

How successful have the movements for racial equality, women’s equality, etc. been?

What are Civil Rights? To whom do they apply?

• civil rights vs. civil liberties– civil liberties – protections from arbitrary interference by government

– civil rights – policies designed to guarantee equal treatment by government officials and political equality

• The Constitution and inequality– Initially absent in spite of the ringing rhetoric of the

Declaration of Independence. The word “equality” does not appear in the original Constitution.

• 200 year political struggle to broaden definition of what equal citizenship means– Who: race? gender? sexual orientation? disability? age?

– Political equality only? Equal opportunity? Equal results?

Civil War Amendments• Intended to ensure rights of former enslaved

African Americans against infringement by state governments

• 13th Amendment – abolished slavery• 14th Amendment

– Reversed decision in Dred Scot v. Sanford (1857)

– Extended citizenship to include former slaves (all people born on U.S. soil)

– Equal protection of the laws to all people

– Prohibited states from abridging the rights of citizens

– Guaranteed due process of law (used by Court for selective incorporation)

• 15th Amendment (1870) extended suffrage to African Americans (men)

Racial Equality

How effective were Civil War Amendments?

• Supreme Court initially used the 14th Amendment to protect property rights. Then in several cases they interpreted its protections so narrowly as to limit the civil rights of blacks, women or Indians

• Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)– Decided that the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause protected

citizens from actions of the U.S. government, not of the states.

• Civil Rights Cases (1883)• Ruled that 14th Amendment gave Congress the power to prohibit discrimination practiced

by the government but not by private parties

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)– Upheld racial segregation in public facilities (separate but equal

doctrine)

– Laid the foundation for the dual society (U.S. version of apartheid, also known as Jim Crow)

Racial Equality

Southern states deny civil rights after Reconstruction

• 15th Amendment rendered ineffective by black codes to restrict voter turnout (discrimination at voting booth)– Literacy tests– Poll taxes– Grandfather clauses – Allowed poor whites who failed

literacy test to vote (if ancestors had voted prior to 1867, they could, too)

– Dilution of voting strength through redistricting (racial gerrymandering)

– White primaries – voting in Democratic party primaries limited to whites

• Jim Crow laws – designed to segregate the races in schools, public transportation, and hotels

• Economic and physical intimidation and terror to ensure all of the above

Racial Equality

Executive and judicial branches take steps toward equality

• Executive branch– During WW II, FDR issues Executive Order 8802 (1941), banning

racial discrimination in the defense industry and government offices

– With Executive Order 9981 (1948), Truman orders desegregation of armed forces

• Judicial branch– Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Warren Court overturns

Plessy v. Ferguson, outlawing segregation in public schools• Unanimously rules that separate facilities could not be equal, violate

equal protection clause of 14th amendment.• Resisted by many states – e.g. Little Rock, AR

– NAACP organizes 9 students to integrate school (“Little Rock 9”), Governor refuses and blocks with AR National Guard, President Eisenhower sends in Federal troops to enforce integration and protect the 9

Racial Equality

The first call for impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren, it was taped to a bulletin board in the 7th and Mission post office in San Francisco, California, United States, and reported to the FBI.

Based on the map below, ten years after Brown v. Board (1954) how successful were efforts to use the

courts to end segregation in public schools?

Civil Rights Movement turns to alternative forms of political participation to change civil rights policies

• Demonstrations, protests,

• Civil disobedience (sit-ins, freedom rides)

• Organized interest-group activity– e.g., SCLC, SNCC

• Litigation in courts – e.g., NAACP

• Boycotts– E.g. Montgomery Bus Boycott

Racial Equality

Achievements of Civil Rights Movement • Abolition of de jure segregation (by law)

– Civil Rights Act of 1964• Bans discrimination in hotels, restaurants, and other public accommodation

• Forbade employment discrimination based on race

• Authorized federal officials to withhold funds from states that allowed racial discrimination (Q: what kind of federalism does this represent?)

• Creates the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within Executive branch

• Applies to race, color, religion, origin, and sex.

• Upheld in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964). Court ruled that Congress has authority under the Interstate Commerce clause to ban racial discrimination in public places.

– 24th Amendment• Outlaws poll taxes in federal elections

– Voting Rights Act of 1965• Outlaws literacy tests and other discriminatory tests in voter registration

• Allows federal registrars to register voters

Racial Equality

Other Racial Minorities• Native Americans

– Annihilation and removal during colonial times and 19th century– Unique status under U.S. law.– Major issues are hunting, fishing, and land rights, religious freedom.– Growth of Indian casinos.

• Latinos– Largest and fastest growing racial group in the U.S.– Activism launched among Chicanos, Puerto Ricans in 1960s as

part of civil rights movement– Interest groups: United Farm Workers (strikes), National Council

of La Raza (lobbying), LULAC and MALDEF (litigation)– Voting, education, and immigration are major issues.

• Asian Americans– History of restrictions on immigration and employment.– Internment of Japanese Americans in World War II given

sanction in Korematsu v. United States (1944)– Increasing mobilization and efforts to elect leaders.

Racial Equality

Women’s Rights

• Right to vote– Began agitating to win the vote after passage of 15th Amendment

– Abandoned legal challenges after Court ruled in 1874 that 14th Amendment did not guarantee suffrage for women.

– Women take battle to Congress

– 19th Amendment (1920) – extends suffrage to women

• Late 1960s, second wave of feminist movement takes off– Battle in the Courts

• In Reed v. Reed (1971) Court rules that “arbitrary” gender discrimination violated 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause

– Battle in Congress• Equal Rights Amendment passed by Congress but never ratified by

______ states required

Women’s Rights

Gender Equality at Work• Women in the Workplace

– The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned gender discrimination in employment.

• No mandatory pregnancy leave• must hire even if job is dangerous to fetus• no arbitrary height and weight requirements

• Wage Discrimination and Comparable Worth– equal pay for equal work, but Supreme Court has not ruled

on comparable worth• Women in the Military

– Women may serve in all branches, but only men may serve in ground combat

• Sexual Harassment– Women may sue employers for sexual harassment under

Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“hostile work environment”)

Women’s Rights

Expansion of civil rights umbrella to newly politicized groups

• People with Disabilities– American with Disabilities Act (ADA), 1990

• Requires employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accommodations” for the disabled

• Prohibits employment discrimination against the disabled

• Gays/Lesbians– Major gains have been made in recent years.– “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” considered failure, repealed in

2011.– Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

• Overturned laws criminalizing sexual behavior between gay couples in the privacy of their own homes

– Domestic partnership increasingly accepted– Gay marriage

• Many state constitutions amended to prohibit practice

Other Groups

Affirmative Action• Despite Court rulings, federal legislation, and changed public attitudes, de facto

discrimination remains persistent. Economic and social conditions of minorities has improved little.

– One-third of black Americans and one-fifth of Latino and Asian men report experiences of job discrimination

– Racial profiling– Inequalities in access to schooling

• Prominent leaders became convinced that a broader societal effort was needed to eradicate poverty and discrimination. The debate has turned to what actions are needed to remedy past discrimination and/or de facto discrimination.

• Adopted affirmative action policies– specific efforts to recruit, hire, and promote disadvantaged groups for the purpose of

eliminating the present effects of past/de facto discrimination

• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)– Court ruled that public university committees could not use racial quotas (% of spots in

admissions) for minorities– But race could be considered in admissions

• Subsequent case said race could be considered a “plus” in admissions