Civil Rights
AP U.S. Government and Politics
Civil Rights
– Civil rights or equal rights – the right of every person to
equal protection under the laws and equal access to
society’s opportunities and public facilities.
• Throughout American history, disadvantaged groups have
rarely achieved a measure of equality without a struggle.
– The equal-protection clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment forbids states to deny equal protection of
the laws to any individual within its jurisdiction.
• After Federal Troops withdrew from the South in 1877, white
majorities enacted laws that prohibited blacks from using the
same facilities as whites.
– Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – Supreme Court endorsed these laws
through the “separate but equal” justification.
Segregation in Schools
• Substantial intervention finally occurred for African
Americans with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
(1954).
– Brown overturned Plessy v. Ferguson’s concept of “separate
but equal.”
• The decision led to outrage in the south, with some southerners
pushing for the impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren.
• 1954 Gallup Poll showed that a sizeable majority of Southern whites
were opposed to the Brown decision.
– Brown v. Board of Education (1955) focused on the
implementation of desegregation of public schools.
• Today, America’s schools are actually becoming less diverse.
Judicial Tests of Equal Protection
– The Fourteenth Amendment’s equal-protection clause
doesn’t require the government to treat all groups
equally in all circumstances.
• The courts use the reasonable-basis test, which can deem laws
that treat individuals unequally constitutional if the purpose of
the laws is “reasonably” related to a legitimate government
interest.
• The strict-scrutiny test eliminates race or ethnicity as a legal
classification when it places minority group members at a
disadvantage.
– The Supreme Court’s opinion is that race and national
origin are suspect classifications, and are
unconstitutional.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
– The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits discrimination by
government, but not private employers.
– The 1964 Civil Rights Act entitles all people to equal
access to public accommodations.
• This legislation also bars discrimination on the basis of race,
color, sex, religion, or national organization in hiring,
promotion, or wages.
– A few types of discrimination are still legal under the Civil Rights Act.
– The black civil rights movement was the main motivation
for the Civil Rights Act.
• The Montgomery bus boycott and the March on Washington
for Jobs and Freedom helped accelerate the passing of the Civil
Rights Act.
• There was widespread resistance to the Civil Rights Act.
– Aside from African Americans, women have been the
most successful disadvantaged group to gain more
rights.
• Nineteenth Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote.
• Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits sex discrimination in salary and
wages by some employers.
• Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in education.
– Hispanics also fought for civil rights.
• Farm workers’ strikes led to policy changes, including better
wages and working conditions, and a congressional act that
requires states to provide bilingual ballots in areas with large
numbers of non-English-speaking minorities.
– Native Americans struggled more than other groups to
gain civil rights.
• They were not granted official citizenship until 1924.
– In 1974, Congress passed legislation that granted native Americans
living on reservations greater control over federal programs that affect
them.
– The Indian Bill of Rights gives native Americans living on reservations
constitutional guarantees similar to those held by other Americans.
• Of all minority groups, native Americans have the worst
conditions in terms of poverty.
– Asian Americans also faced a difficult struggle for
equality.
• In 1965, Congress lifted restrictions on Asian immigration.
• The 1964 Civil Rights Act expanded Asian Americans rights.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
– The Fifteenth Amendment gave blacks the right to vote,
but there were many obstacles for blacks in exercising
this right.
• Poll taxes, literacy tests, and white-only primary elections kept
blacks from registering and voting.
– Poll taxes were outlawed by the 24th Amendment.
– The major step toward African American involvement in
the political process was the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 forbids discrimination in voting
and registration.
– It empowered federal agents to register voters and outlawed literacy
tests as a registration requirement.
– It had an immediate impact on black participation, as 20% more blacks
voted in the ensuing presidential election.
Affirmative Action
– Affirmative action refers to deliberate efforts to provide full
and equal opportunities in employment, education, and
other areas for members of traditionally disadvantaged
groups.
• It applies only to organizations that receive federal funding.
– Affirmative action was designed to eliminate de jure
discrimination, discrimination that is based on law.
– Ex: state laws requiring black and white children to attend separate
schools.
– De jure discrimination has been made illegal by Supreme Court decisions.
– Affirmative action also aims to reduce de facto
discrimination, which refers to discrimination that results
from social, economic, and cultural biases and conditions.
– Affirmative action is a very controversial topic.
• Most Americans support programs that give historically
disadvantaged Americans equal treatment, but oppose
programs that give them preferential treatment.
– In University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978) the Supreme Court
ruled that the school violated the equal protection clause by having a
quota for minority admissions.
– Gratz v. Bollinger (2003) – Supreme Court invalidated Michigan’s
undergraduate admissions policy because points were assigned based
on race.
– Bollinger v. Grutter (2003) upheld Michigan's affirmative action policy,
which gave preference to minority students because it allowed for
educational benefits from having a diverse student body.
The Continuing Struggle for Equality
– Although progress has been made toward a more equal
America, traditionally disadvantaged groups are still
substantially unequal in their daily lives.
African Americans
– In modern America, poverty is a major problem for African
Americans.
– African Americans are more likely than whites to be
convicted of crimes.
• Crime rates are higher among African Americans than other groups.
• African American children are more likely than others to grow up in a
household without both parents present.
– African Americans have made substantial progress in getting elected to
office since the 1960s.
Women
– Women have also made substantial gains in the area of
appointive and elective offices.
• Despite this, they are still a long way from political parity.
– Although many more women have entered the job market in
recent decades, they still haven’t achieved job equality.
• They make less money than men and have difficulty getting top jobs
with their companies.
– In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA), granting women up to twelve weeks leave when
they have a child and allowing them to return to their
position.
• Most single-parent households are headed by women, who struggle
to find jobs that pay significantly more than the child-care expenses
they incur.
Native Americans
• Over 2 million Native Americans live on reservations set
aside by the federal government.
– U.S. policy toward reservations has changed over time.
• Currently, preservation of Native American culture is a policy goal.
– Native Americans have filed suit to reclaim their lost lands.
• In most cases, these suits are unsuccessful.
– Many tribes have built casinos on their lands to gain revenue.
• Despite this, their income is far below the national average, their
infant mortality rate is high, and their rates of alcoholism and suicide
are higher than average.
• Native Americans are less than half as likely as other Americans to
attend college.
Hispanic Americans
– Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the
U.S.
– A significant number of Hispanics are in the U.S. illegally.
– Americans are divided on the long-term answer to illegal immigration.
– Hispanics’ household income is far below the national
average.
– The number of Hispanics holding office is growing.
– Hispanics have been elected to state offices in several states, and there
are roughly two dozen Hispanics in the House of Representatives.
• The number of Hispanics in states such as Texas and California
will make the group a political force in upcoming years.
Asian Americans
• Most Asian Americans live on the West Coast.
– Asian Americans are an upwardly mobile group.
• Asian cultures emphasize self-reliance and education.
• Asian Americans have the highest percentage of two-parent
families of all minority groups.
– Asian Americans account for a disproportionately low
amount of top business positions.
– They are also underrepresented in politics compared to
blacks and Hispanics.
Homosexuals
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not legally protect
homosexuals.
– Gays and Lesbians have resorted to judicial action to
gain equality and protection under the law.
• In Romer v. Evans (1996), the Supreme Court ruled that people
can’t be discriminated on based on their sexual orientation.
– Homosexuals have had some success gaining the rights
and privileges afforded to opposite-sex couples.
• In some states, homosexuals can marry and share health
benefits.
• Same-sex marriages are not currently recognized under federal
law.
– Overall, the American public has become more accepting
of gay and lesbian relationships.
• A 2009 CNN Poll has found that younger adults are more
supportive of same-sex marriage than older adults are.
Other Disadvantaged Groups
– Legislation has been passed to ban discrimination
against older workers in hiring, as long as age is not a
critical factor for job performance.
• Age discrimination is not prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
– Discrimination against the disabled is also not prohibited
by the Constitution.
• The disabled are protected through statutes including the
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990).
– The law requires employers and public facilities to make “reasonable
accommodations” for people with disabilities and prohibits
discrimination against these individuals in employment.
• The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
required that schools provide all children with a free and
appropriate public education, regardless of their disability.
• Equality is a difficult idea in practice because it
requires people to shed preconceived notions about
how other people think, behave, and feel.
– Equality has been, and continues to be America’s most
elusive ideal.