All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
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14 amendment
1868
1
• Civil Liberties:
• the legal constitutional protections
against the government
• Civil Rights
• policies designed to protect people
against arbitrary or discriminatory
treatment by government officials or
individuals
Know the difference
2
• De facto discrimination
• Social, economic, cultural biases 
discrimination
• De jure discrimination
• Specific law  discrimination
How we discriminate
3
• “citizenship ” clause
• State and federal citizenship for all persons regardless of
race both born or naturalized in the United States was
reaffirmed.
• “privileges or immunities” clause
• No state would be allowed to abridge the "privileges and
immunities" of citizens.
• “due process” clause
• No person was allowed to be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without "due process of law."
• “equal protection” clause
• No person could be denied "equal protection of the laws."
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14 amendment
4
Table 5.1
LEVELS OF COURT REVIEW FOR
LAWS THAT TREAT AMERICANS
DIFFERENTLY
5
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• Forbids states from denying equal protection
• Strict scrutiny test
• Suspect category—assumed unconstitutional in the absence of an
overwhelming justification
• Applies to race, ethnicity, etc.
• Intermediate scrutiny test
• Almost suspect category—assumed unconstitutional unless the law serves a
clearly compelling and justified purpose
• Applies to gender
• Reasonable basis test
• Not suspect category—assumed constitutional unless no sound rationale for
the law can be provided
• Applies to age, income, etc.
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14 amendment
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• African Americans
• Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
• Black civil rights movement
• March on Washington, 1963
• Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act
(1965)
• Aftermath of the civil rights movement
• Discrepancies in convictions and sentencing
• Movement into political office
Struggle for Equality
7
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Education. All rights
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• Women
• Legal and political gains
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964)
• Title IX of the Education Amendment (1972)
• Job-related issues
• Family leave
• Comparable worth (gender pay equity)
• Sexual harassment
Struggle for Equality
8
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Education. All rights
reserved.
• Native Americans
• Suits to regain land
• Negative discrepancy in health, wealth, and
education
• Hispanic Americans
• Legal and political action: Cesar Estrada
Chavez, (1927-1993)
• Guest workers
• Growing political power (Democratic leanings)
Struggle for Equality
9
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Education. All rights
reserved.
• Asian Americans
• Long tradition of immigration restriction,
ended 1965
• Over 12 million Asian Americans
• Emphasis on academic achievement in Asian
American communities
• Upwardly mobile group
Struggle for Equality
10
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Education. All rights
reserved.
• Other groups and their rights
• Older Americans
• Disabled Americans
• Homosexuals (lgbt)
Struggle for Equality
11
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Education. All rights
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• Definition: a policy designed to give
special attention to or compensatory
treatment of members of some previously
disadvantaged group
• In education
• Regents of the University of California v.
Bakke (1978)
• Racial set asides unconstitutional
• Race could be considered in admissions
• Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
• Race could be considered a “plus” in admissions
Affirmative Action
• In employment
• Fullilove V Kultznick (1980)
• Upheld 10 % of federal contracts must be to minority
companies
• Adarand v Pena ( 1995)
• White company submitted lower bid and sued
• Court rule in favor of company
• Over turned Fillilove
Affirmative Action
• School integration
• Busing: controversial policy to end de
facto segregation of public schools
• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg
County Bd. of Education (1971)
• Roberts Court decision, 2007
Equality of Result
14
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• Superficial differences
• Decline in overt racism
• Growing numbers of minorities in higher
education
• Growing number of minorities in white-collar
professions
Persistent Discrimination
15
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Education. All rights
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• Continuing inequality in:
• health care and mortality rate
• nutrition
• education
Persistent Discrimination
16
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Education. All rights
reserved.