Equal Rights: Struggling Toward Fairness
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White man are often treated better than black man, despite the similarities in their
situation and conditions
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Black applicants often receive less interviews when they are seeking for a job
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Equal rights, or civil rights are terms that refer to the right of every person to equal
protection under the laws and equal access to society’s opportunities and public facilities

Are people categorized into groups? Such as racial, gender, and ethnic groups?
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Equality Through Law
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The 14th Amendment
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No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of
the laws
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Equal-protection clause

Plessy v. Ferguson
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Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” did not violate the
Constitution as long as the facilities are equal
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Became a justification for the separate and unequal treatment of African
Americans
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For example, black children were forced to attend different schools than
white children
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The Supreme Court did not respond until the last 1930s,
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Blacks must be allowed to use public facilities reserved for whites in cases
where they did not have separate facilities
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The law school in Oklahoma did admit their first black student into their
regular class but roped off her seat from the rest of the class and stenciled
the word “colored” on it
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She was also forced to eat alone
Segregation in the Schools
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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
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Linda Coral Brown was denied to attend a white public school and had
to go to a black school that is 12 blocks further away
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Court declared racial segregation is unconstitutional
In 1954, southern whites oppose the Brown decision and called for Chief
Justice Earl Warren’s impeachment
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Rioting broke out when Aransas’s governor called out the state’s National
Guard to prevent black students from entering Little Rock’s high school
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Brown Decision banned the segregation of schools, but it did not require
states to take active steps to integrate their schools
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Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Education
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Busing children out of their neighborhoods for the purpose of
achieving racially integrated schools was constitutionally permissible
in cases where previous acts of racial discrimination contributed to
school segregation
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A survey indicated that more than 80% of white Americans
disapproved of forced bussing
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White people protested: burned down buses and beat black residents
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Unlike Brown, Swann also implied to the North when blacks and
whites lived separately because of discriminatory real estate practices
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Studies found the busing improved school children’s racial attitudes
and improved minority children’s performance
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America’s schools are now more ethnically and racially segregated than
they were when busing began
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Judicial Tests of Equal Protection
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14th Amendment does not require states to treat their minorities fairly
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in applying this reasonable-basis test, the courts require the governments
to show that a particular law is reasonable
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does not apply to racial or ethnic classifications
Any law that treats people differently because of race of ethnicity is
subjected to the strict-scrutiny test, which presumes that the law is
unconstitutional unless government can provide a compelling basis for it
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It eliminated race and ethnicity as permissible classification
Supreme Court’s position is that race and national origin are suspect
classifications—laws that classify people differently on the basis of their
race or ethnicity are presumed to have discrimination as their purpose
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Loving v. Virginia
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Virginia prohibits people with different races marrying
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When a Native American and an African American got married in
Washington DC and retuned to Virginia, they were arrested
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Virginia claimed that this law does not violate the equal protection because
both races got into prison for five years
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Supreme Court concluded that the law was based on solely on “invidious
racial discrimination” and that any such “classification” was
unconstitutional
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Women began to assert their rights in the 1970s
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Court held that men and women can be treated differently when the
question is “substantially related” to the achievement of “important
governmental objectives”
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Rostker v. Goldbery
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Court upheld such a classification, ruling that the male-only draft
registration law served the important objective of excluding omen
from involuntary combat duty
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United States v. Virginia
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Virginia had a male-only military school, but also provided a female
military school
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Court ruled invalid because it failed to provide an “exceedingly
persuasive” argument for Virginia’s policy
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The significance of the 14th Amendment is that it aimed to nationalize the
meaning of civil rights through the Incorporation Doctrine
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The slaughterhouse cases
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The Supreme Court dismissed the suits and ruled that intent of the 14th
Amendment was to protect the freed slaves, not to incorporate the Bill of
Rights
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Civil Rights act was challenged and the Supreme Court ruled the establishment
of legality of access to public accommodations, theaters, hotels, and other public
facilities unconstitutional
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14th Amendment applied only to the states “operating under cover of the
law”
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Even after the Supreme Court case nationalized the Bill of Rights in the Gitlow
case, it reversed itself in a significant due process case, Palko v Connecticut
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Key Court Cases
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Gitlow v New York—freedom of speech
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Near v Minnesota—freedom of the press
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Powell v Alabama—access to a lawyer in capital cases
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De Jonge v Oregon—freedom of assembly
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Cantwell v Connecticut—freedom of religion
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Wolf v Colorado—unreasonable search and seizure
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Criteria for the Supreme Court to use the principle of incorporation in their
decisions to promote the 14th Amendment due process rights and equal
protection under the law
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Reasonable classification
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The rational basis test
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The strict scrutiny test
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
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14th Amendment prohibits discrimination by government but not from private
parties
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1964 Civil Rights Act
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the legislation entitles all persons to equal access to public
accommodations
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also bars discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, or national orgin in
the hiring, promotion, and wages of employees
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A few forms of jobs discrimination are still lawful
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The Black Civil Rights Movement
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Parks, a black person who left work and took a bus home, was ordered to
give her seat to a while passenger when the “white” seats were all occupied.
She refused and got arrested
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a boycott against this action
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“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skins but by the
content of their character”
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President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Many restaurants, hotels, and other establishments refused to serve
black customers
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Discrimination in job decisions is harder to prove
The Movement for Women’s Rights
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Women were forbidden to vote, to hold public office, or to served on juries
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Women essentially lost her identity when she marries
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Supreme Court declared a wife’s adultery a violation of the husband’s
property rights
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Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth fought for women’s’ rights
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15th Amendment declared only that the right to vote could not be abridged
on account of race or color
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Not until the 19th Amendment did women acquire the right to vote
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Congress rejected the proposal but eventually approved the Equal
Rights Amendment
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Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits sex discrimination in salary and wages
Hispanic Americans and the Farm Workers’ Strike
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Migrants were working long hours for low pay, living in shacks without
electricity or plumbing, and were unwelcomed
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The Hispanic civil rights movement lacked the scope of the black civil rights
movement but brought about some policy change
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Native Americans and Their Long-Delayed Rights
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Until Congress changed the policy in 1924, Native Americans by law were
denied citizenship
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Native Americans leaders organized the “Trail of Broken Treaties”
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The government agreed to establish a committee to investigate their
grievances
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In 1974, Congress passed legislation that granted Native Americans living
on reservations greater control over federal programs that affect them
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Asian American and Immigration
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Congress in 1892 suspended Asian immigration on grounds that Asian
were inferior
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Lau v. Nichols
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Supreme Court ruled that placing public school children for whom
English is a second language in regular classroom without special
assistance violates the Civil Rights Act
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The Voting Rights Act of 1965
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Southern whites kept blacks from registering and voting
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Supreme Court declared the white-only primary elections were unconstitutional
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Voting Rights Act of 1965 forbids discrimination in voting and registration
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League of United Latin American Voters v. Perry
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Texas government drawn boundaries in a way designed to make Hispanics
a minority of the voters within the district
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The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional, but also did not allow election
districts to be created for the sole purpose of giving control to a minority
group
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The Civil Rights Act of 1968
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A building owner cannot refuse to sell or rent housing because of a person’s race,
religion, ethnicity, or sex
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Banks also contributed to housing segregation by redlining—refusing to grant
mortgage loans in certain neighborhoods typically those with large black
populations
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Affirmative Action
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Changes in law seldom have large or immediate effects on how people behave

Affirmative action refers to deliberate efforts to provide full and equal
opportunities in employment education, and other areas for members of
traditionally disadvantaged groups
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Affirmative actions only applies to organizations that receive federal funding or
contracts
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If an organization grants a disproportionate share to white males, it must share
that it’s necessary and not discriminatory
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Affirmative action was established by presidential action
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Equality of result
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Other major civil rights policies had sought to eliminate de jure
discrimination—discrimination based on law
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Affirmative action policy sought to alleviate de facto discrimination—the
condition whereby historically disadvantaged groups have fewer opportunities
and benefits because of prejudice and economic circumstances
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University of California Regents v. Bakke
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Alan Bakke wanted to attend a medical schools that admitted minority
applicants with significant lower test scores
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The Court ruled that the medical school had violated Bakke’s right to equal
protection
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Adarand v. Pena
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The court overturned an earlier ruling that had upheld a federal policy that
“set aside” a certain percentage of federally funded construction projects
for minority-owned firms
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Pas discrimination in a particular industry cannot justify granting an
advantage to minority-owned construction firms that have not been the
direct victims of this discrimination
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Ricci v. DeStefano
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Supreme Court held that an organization, after establishing an equal
opportunity program, has to abide by it even if minorities are adversely
affected
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Fisher v. University of Texas
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Some analysts believe could end race preferences in higher education
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A white student sued the university for not admitting her because she is
white
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Richmond v. Corson
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Created the impetus for Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1991
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Established procedures for evaluating the legitimacy of affirmative action
programs
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Security test evaluates programs based on racial classification
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Congress has more power than states
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When the state takes action, it must do so based on evidence that past
discriminatory practice existed
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Must be specific and apply to past injustices
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States may develop affirmative actions programs “narrowly
tailored…necessary to break down patters of deliberate exclusion”
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Gratz v. Bollinger; Grutter v. Bollinger
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University relied too much on a quota systemunconstitutional

University relied on a broad-based policy of using race as a basis for
admissionsconstitutonal
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The Continuing Struggle for Equality
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African Americans
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Poverty is the persistent problem
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40% live under government-defined poverty line
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African Americans accused of crime are more likely than white Americans to be
convicted
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More than half of black children grow up in a single-parent family, and 8% grow
up in a home where neither parent is present
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One area in which African Americans have made substantial progress since the
1960s is elective office
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Brown v Board of Education is the most significant Supreme Court decision in the
history of the Court
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Civil Rights Act of 1964 made discrimination in public accommodations illegal
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Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US
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1965 Voting Rights Act
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Civil Rights Act of 1968 called the Open Housing Act, made illegal the practice of
selling real estate based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex
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California Board of Regers v. Bakke: Reverse Discrimination
Women
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Women are six times more likely today than a half century ago to work outside of
home
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There are currently more women attending college than men
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Family and Medical Leave Act
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The employee must be given the original or an equivalent job position with
equivalent pay and benefits
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Civil Rights Act of 1964 had an anti-sex discrimination provisions; it was
extended by the Education Act of 1972
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Native Americans
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State governments have no direct authority over federal reservations, and the
federal government’s authority is defined by the terms of its treaty with the
particular tribe
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Native Americans’ average income is still far below the national average
Hispanic Americans
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Ten million or more are in the states illegally.

The state of Arizona exacted enacted legislation that called for police to check for
evidence of legal status whenever in the course of duty they stopped a person for
another reason.
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Supreme Court upheld the rule, claiming that staes cannot interfere with the
federal government’s constitutional authority to determine immigration policy
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More than 4000 Hispanic Americans hold public office
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Roughly 24 Hispanic Americans currently serve in the HOR
Asian Americans
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Asian Americans have the highest percentage of two parent families of any racial
group.
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According to U.S. government figures, Asian Americans account for about 5
percent of professionals and technicians.
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
Bobby Jindal was a leading figure of Asian American politician
Gays and Lesbians
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Romer v. Evans
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A Colorado constitutional amendment that nullified all existing and any
new legal protections for homosexuals
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Lawrence v. Texas
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Court invalidated state laws that prohibited sexual relations between
consenting adults of the same sex
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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act
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As long as they do not reveal their sexual preference, they could enlist and
stay in the service
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Defense of Marriage Act
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Authorizes states to deny marital rights to a same-sex couple that has been
granted these rights by another state.
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Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell
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President Bill Clinton directed the military to follow a “Don’t ask, don’t tell,
don’t pursue” policy
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Allowed homosexuals to enlist and serve in the military as long as they did
not disclose the fact that they were gay

Obama signaled his support for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t tell

Gay groups and gay servicemen and women who were discharged filed
court petitions to find the law unconstitutional

Obama urged Congress to pass legislation repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell policy
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Few concrete victories, gay activists groups have been outspoken in their
quest for equal protection under the law
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Gay Marriage
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Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage were legal in 2004

Congress passed and Bill Clinton singed the Defense of Marriage Act of
1996allow states not to recognize gay marriage from other states and
made illegal any federal benefits to states that did allow gay marriages,
proponents of the amendment and President George W. Bush felt that its
passage would be the only way to protect the institution of marriage
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Other Disadvantaged Groups
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Age of Discrimination Act of 1975 and Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967
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Prohibit discrimination against older workers
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Age discrimination is not protected by the Constitution
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Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
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Congress required that schools provide all children with a free and
appropriate education
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Senior Citizens
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American Association of Retired Persons
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Disabled Americans
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Age Discrimination Acts
In 1975, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act was passed
Age Discrimination
Discrimination: Superficial Differences, Deep Divisions

According to the book An American Dilemma, irony exists between deep-rooted
racism and a country that idealized equality
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Discrimination = “American curse”