Civil Rights and Equality

• Civil rights are policies protecting individuals from discriminatory treatment by government or individuals.

Types of Inequality

• Racial and ethnic discrimination is a key type of inequality.
• Gender discrimination is also a type of inequality.
• Discrimination based on age, disability, wealth, and other factors contributes to inequality

Conceptions of Equality

• Equal results/rewards: Everyone earns the same salary/has the same amount of property.
• Equal rights/opportunity: Everyone has the same chance to succeed.

Equality in the Constitution

• The Bill of Rights contains the only mention of equality in the Constitution.
• Guaranteed individual rights apply to everyone in society.

Supreme Court's Standards for Classifications Under the Equal Protection Clause

• Inherently suspect: Classifications are presumed invalid unless serving a compelling public interest with no alternative.
  • Example: Race and ethnicity.
• Intermediate scrutiny: Classifications must be important to the government and related to the goal.
  • Example: Gender.
• Reasonableness: Classifications must be rationally related to a legitimate governmental goal.
  • Examples: Age, wealth, disability, and other factors.

Eras of the Struggle for African American Equality

Slavery (1600s-1865)

• Policy Focus: Protecting property interests of slave owners.
• Court Cases:
  • Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857): Ruled that slaves were property and had no rights; Congress could not ban slavery in territories.
• Acts/Amendments:
  • Thirteenth Amendment: Abolished slavery.

Reconstruction and Segregation (1865-1954)

• Policy Focus: Southern states imposed Jim Crow laws, segregating African Americans.
• Court Cases:
  • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): “Separate but equal” is constitutional.
• Acts/Amendments:
  • Fourteenth Amendment: Granted equal protection under the law to all citizens.
  • Fifteenth Amendment: Gave universal male suffrage.

Civil Rights Movement and Suffrage (1954-Present)

• Policy Focus: Desegregating schools and seeking equal opportunities; ending segregation policies.
• Court Cases:
  • Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Declared school segregation unconstitutional based on the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Acts/Amendments:
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964: Outlawed racial discrimination in public accommodations and employment; strengthened voting rights.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965: Ended formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage.
  • Twenty-Fourth Amendment: Declared poll taxes void in federal elections.

Significance of Supreme Court Cases

• Scott v. Sandford (1857): Denied African Americans citizenship and upheld slavery.
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Established "separate but equal," legitimizing segregation.
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

De Jure vs. De Facto Segregation

• De jure segregation: Segregation by law.
• De facto segregation: Segregation exists without legal requirements.

Major Provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Made racial discrimination illegal in public accommodations.
• Forbade employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, or gender.
• Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
• Provided for withholding federal grants from discriminating institutions.
• Strengthened voting rights legislation.
• Authorized the Justice Department to initiate desegregation lawsuits.

Southern States' Methods to Deny African Americans the Right to Vote

• Literacy tests: Difficult tests given to African Americans, few passed.
• Grandfather clause: Exempted those whose grandfathers could vote in 1860 from literacy tests, excluding descendants of slaves.
• Poll taxes: Taxes on voting, disenfranchising poor African Americans.
• White primaries: Excluded African Americans from primary elections.

Impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Ended barriers to African American suffrage.
• Increased African American voter registration and elected officials.

Other Minority Groups Facing Discrimination

• Native Americans: Faced poverty, discrimination, and exploitation.
• Hispanic Americans: Experienced segregation; depressed voter turnout due to poverty, discrimination, and language barriers.
• Asian Americans: Suffered discrimination in education, jobs, housing, and immigration.
• Arab Americans and Muslims: Subject to discrimination, especially after 9/11.

Protectionism Policy

• Protectionism involves laws protecting women, often by restricting their opportunities.

Equal Rights Amendment

• The ERA aimed to guarantee equal rights regardless of sex, but didn't pass enough state legislatures.

Supreme Court Cases on Sex-Based Discrimination

• Reed v. Reed (1971): First Supreme Court decision upholding a claim of gender discrimination.
• Craig v. Boren (1976): Established "intermediate scrutiny" for gender discrimination.
• Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977): Voided laws barring women from jobs based on arbitrary height/weight requirements.
• Harris v. Forklift Systems (1993): Reinforced that pervasive sexual harassment creating a hostile work environment constitutes gender discrimination.

Congressional Efforts to End Sex Discrimination in Employment

• Civil Rights Act of 1964: Banned gender discrimination in employment.
• 1972: EEOC gained the power to sue employers suspected of illegal discrimination.
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978: Illegal to exclude pregnancy/childbirth from sick leave and health benefits plans.
• Civil Rights and Women’s Equity in Employment Act of 1991: Reduced the burden of proof on workers claiming discrimination

Comparable Worth

• Comparable worth is the concept that jobs traditionally held by women should pay the same as jobs traditionally held by men.

Legal Differences in Military Treatment

• Male-only draft registration at 18.
• Different physical fitness standards adjusted for women.

Supreme Court and Sexual Harassment

• Enforced legislation regarding gender discrimination, which includes sexual harassment.
• Established that pervasive sexual harassment creating a hostile work environment is gender discrimination.

Discrimination Against the Elderly

• Age discrimination in the workplace, such as refusal to hire older workers.
• Age-related policies in schools impacted housewives and veterans.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

• Rehabilitation Act: Added people with disabilities to the list of Americans protected from discrimination.
• Americans with Disabilities Act: Required employers and public facilities to make 'reasonable accommodations'.

Challenges Faced by Gays and Lesbians

• Gays and lesbians experience homophobia: fear and hatred of homosexuals.

Supreme Court Cases on Affirmative Action

• Support:
  • Regents of the University of California v., Bakke (1978)
  • Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
  • Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers v. EEOC (1986)
• Oppose:
  • Adarand Constructors v. Pena (1995)
  • Firefighter v. Scotts (1984)
  • Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
  • Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007)

Equality vs. Liberty

• Equality can threaten liberty by favoring majority rule and denying minority rights

Civil Rights Laws and Government Power

• Civil rights laws increase government scope by regulating individual and institutional behavior.

Vocabulary

• Civil rights: Policies protecting against discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.
• Fourteenth Amendment: Guarantees equal protection of the laws.
• Equal protection of the laws: Laws must provide equivalent "protection" to all people.
• Thirteenth Amendment: Abolished slavery.
• Civil Rights Act of 1964: Made racial discrimination in public accommodations illegal.
• Suffrage: The legal right to vote.
• Fifteenth Amendment: Extended suffrage to African Americans.
• Poll taxes: Taxes levied on the right to vote.
• White primary: Primary elections from which African Americans were excluded.
• Twenty-Fourth Amendment: Declared poll taxes void in federal elections.
• Voting Rights Act of 1965: Ended formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage.
• Nineteenth Amendment: Guarantees women the right to vote.
• Equal Rights Amendment: Proposed constitutional amendment for equal rights regardless of sex.
• Comparable worth: Equal pay for traditionally female jobs requiring comparable skill.
• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
• Affirmative action: Giving special attention to previously disadvantaged groups.

Key Cases

• Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857): Ruled slaves had no rights as citizens.
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Upheld "separate but equal" segregation.
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Declared school segregation unconstitutional.
• Hernandez v. Texas (1954): Extended protection against discrimination to Hispanics.
• Korematsu v. United States (1944): Upheld internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.
• University of California v. Bakke (1978): Race can be a factor in admissions, but quotas are illegal.
• Adarand Constructors v. Pena (1995): Federal programs classifying people by race are presumed unconstitutional.