Beverly Alfreide-Victor
EDU 674
Dr. Borgen
June 24, 2014
Objective:
Explain in detail the civil rights laws (1866 to
present) which confer substantive right to protect
citizens against discrimination
.
What are Civil Rights?
Civil rights are a class of rights that
protect individuals’ freedom from
infringement by governments and
private organizations, and ensure
one’s ability to participate in the civil
life of the state without
discrimination or repression.
Civil rights ensures protection from
discrimination of:
• Race
• Gender
• National origin
• Color
• Sexual orientation
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Disability
Civil rights also include individual rights
such as:
• Privacy
• Freedoms of thought and conscience
• Speech and expression
• Press
• Assembly
• Movement
Civil Rights act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
granted citizenship and the same
rights enjoyed by white citizens to
all male persons in the United
States “without distinction of race
or color, or previous condition of
slavery.
Civil rights act of 1871
The Civil Rights Act of 1871 also known
as the Ku Klux Klan Act is a United States
federal law that prohibits ethnic violence
against blacks from the Ku Klux Klan by
providing a civil remedy for abuses then
being committed in the South.
Civil rights act of 1875
This act protected all Americans, regardless of race, in
their access to public accommodations and facilities such
as restaurants, theaters, trains and other public
transportation, and protected the right to serve on juries.
However, it was not enforced, and the Supreme Court
declared it unconstitutional in 1883.
Reason: Act was found unconstitutional on the basis that
the Act regulated actions of private companies rather
than actions of the state governments.
Plessy v. Ferguson
1896
• Facts
• Court Decision
Plessy (P) attempted to sit in
an all-white railroad car. After
refusing to sit in the black
railway carriage car, Plessy was
arrested for violating an 1890
Louisiana statute that provided
for segregated “separate but
equal” railroad
accommodations. Those using
facilities not designated for
their race were criminally liable
under the statute.
Plessy was found guilty on the
grounds that the law was a
reasonable exercise of the state’s
police powers based upon custom,
usage, and tradition in the state.
Plessy filed a petition for writs of
prohibition and certiorari in the
Supreme Court of Louisiana
against Ferguson, asserting that
segregation stigmatized blacks and
stamped them with a badge of
inferiority in violation of the
Thirteenth and Fourteenth
amendments. The court found for
Ferguson and the Supreme Court
granted cert.
True or False
“All men are created equal” appears in the Constitution
of the United States.
False: Only appears in the Declaration of Independencea document that has no real legal power.
The closest thing to the word or concept of "equality" in
the Constitution is found in the Fourteenth Amendment.
Added to the Constitution in 1868, this amendment
contains a clause stating that "no state shall . . . deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws."
Brown V. Board Of Education
1954
Took 58 years to overturn
Plessy v. Ferguson.
Facts:
In 1951, a class action suit was
filed against the school board
of Topeka, Kansas. The
plaintiffs were thirteen Topeka
parents on behalf of their
twenty children. The suit called
for the school district to reverse
its policy of racial segregation.
• Court Decision
The race-based segregation of
children into “separate but
equal” public schools violates
the Equal Protection Clause of
the Fourteenth Amendment
and is unconstitutional.
Education in public schools is
a right which must be made
available to all on equal terms.
Civil rights act of 1957
• No civil rights act had been introduced into America for 82 years.
• This law was Congress’s show of support for the Brown v Board of
Ed decision to end segregation.
• The administration of Eisenhower proposed legislation to protect
the right to vote by African Americans. It aimed to increase the
number of registered black voters and stated its support for such a
move.
Civil rights act of 1960
• Federal law established inspections of local voter
registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone
who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote.
• It was designed to deal with discriminatory laws and
practices in the segregated South.
• Extended the life of the Civil Right Commissionoversee registration and voting practices.
• Signed by Eisenhower to eliminate loopholes left by
the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Civil Rights act of 1964
• Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
• Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin.
• Ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial
segregation in schools, at the workplace, and by facilities that served the
general public.
• Origin of the bill came from J.F.K. –in his civil rights speech in ‘63. which
he asked for legislation "giving all Americans the right to be served in
facilities which are open to the public—hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail
stores, and similar establishments", as well as "greater protection for the
right to vote".
Voting rights act of 1965
• Act is considered to be the most effective piece of civil
rights legislation ever enacted in the country.
• Signed by L.B.J., prohibits discrimination in voting.
Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the
14th and 15th amendment to the U.S. constitution. The
act allowed for a mass enfranchisement of racial
minorities throughout the country, especially in the
South.
Age Discrimination act 1967
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 as the (ADEA)
• Protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment
discrimination based on age.
• Applies to both employees and job applicants.
• Unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect
to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing,
promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training.
• The ADEA permits employers to favor older workers based on age even when
doing so adversely affects a younger worker who is 40 or older.
• The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state
and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and labor
organizations, as well as to the federal government.
Civil acts rights of 1968
• The Civil Rights Act signed into law in April 1968.
• Known as the Fair Housing Act–prohibited
discrimination concerning the sale, rental and
financing of housing based on race, religion, national
origin and sex.
• Intended as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Was passed quickly by the House of Representatives in
the days after the assassination of civil rights leader
Martin Luther King Jr. The act stands as the final great
legislative achievement of the civil rights era.
Shelley v. Kraemer, 1948
• Facts:
• Court Decision:
White home owners in a
neighborhood in St. Louis,
Missouri, entered into a private
agreement called a restrictive
covenant. This agreement barred
the sale of homes within their
neighborhood to African
Americans. In 1945, Mr. and
Mrs. Shelley, an AfricanAmerican couple, moved to St.
Louis and purchased a home on
Labadie Avenue, in violation of
the agreement. Mr. and Mrs.
Kraemer, a white couple who
lived on Labadie, sued the
Shelleys.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that enforcement of restrictive
covenants violates the 14th
Amendment. If the state court
or state law enforcement officials
attempted to enforce the
restrictive covenant, they would
be denying the Shelley’s right to
equal protection of the laws, and
therefore violating the U.S.
Constitution.
Education amendments
1972
• Also known as the Higher Education Amendments of
1972.
• Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in
educational institutions receiving federal aid.
The Bill states:
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of
sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any
education program or activity receiving federal financial
assistance.”
Vocational Rehabilitation
Act of 1973
• Correct the problem of discrimination against people
with disabilities in the U.S.
• Affirmative action to hire individuals with a mental or
physical disability.
• Employers must make reasonable accommodations for
disabled employees, it does not mean they must hire
unqualified individuals.
• Additional sections of the Act states to provide
vocational counseling, training assistance and job
placement for individuals with severe disabilities.
Equal Educational Opportunities Act
(EEOA) 1974
• Signed by president Nixon
• Nixon declared that this act would “require that every
state or locality grant equal educational opportunity to
every person, regardless of race, color, or national
origin.”
• Prohibits discrimination against faculty, staff, and
students, including racial segregation of students, and
requires school districts to take action to overcome
barriers to students’ equal participation.
Lau V. Nichols
1974
• Facts
• Court Decision
Civil rights case that was
brought by Chinese American
students in San Francisco,
California who had limited
English proficiency. The
students claimed that they were
not receiving special help in
school due to their inability to
speak English.
Ruled in favor of the students
and resulted in expanding the
rights of students nationwide
with limited English
proficiency. Courts stated that
these students should be
treated with equality among
the schools, violated the 14th
amendment. Courts also
viewed that language based
discrimination is effectively a
proxy for national origin
discrimination.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
•
Signed by President Nixon
•
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal
agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment, and
in the employment practices of federal contractors.
•
Replaces the Vocational Rehabilitation Act
•
Extend and revise the authorization of grants to states for vocational rehabilitation
services, with special emphasis on services to those with the most severe disabilities.
Section 504 ( Civil rights statute for individuals with disabilities)
“No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in
section 705(20) of this title, shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from
the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any
program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity
conducted by any Executive agency.”
Civil rights restoration
act of 1987
• Legislative act which specified that recipients of
federal funds must comply with civil rights laws in all
areas, not just in the particular program or activity that
received federal funding.
• Restore the broad scope of coverage and to clarify the
application of title IX of the Education Amendments
of 1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• Addresses the applicability of federal nondiscrimination laws to corporations or institutions.
Grove City Vs. Bell
1984
• Facts
• Court Decision:
Grove City College sought to
preserve its institutional
autonomy by refusing federal
financial assistance, but its
students did receive federal
financial aid that they then used
to attend the college. Title IX
prohibits sex discrimination in
any education program or
activity that receives federal
funds.
In this case, the U.S. Supreme
Court held that the student
financial aid constituted indirect
federal funds received by the
college, but since those funds
went only the financial aid
program, that was the only part
of the college covered by Title
IX. Supreme Court held that
only the financial aid office of
college would be subject to Title
IX if the students received
federal grants.
Americans with disabilities
act 1990 (ADA)
• Prohibits discrimination based on disability.
• Similar protections against discrimination to
Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of
1964, which made discrimination based on race,
religion, sex, national origin and other characteristics
illegal.
• This bill was intended to give broader protections for
disabled workers, cannot discriminate against a
“qualified individual with a disability”.
Civil rights act of 1991
• Signed by President George H. W. Bush
• Congress amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Effort to strengthen federal civil rights laws, to provide
for damages in employment discrimination cases.
• Provided for the right to trial by jury on discrimination
claims and introduced the possibility of emotional
distress damages, while limiting the amount that a jury
could award.
Employment Nondiscrimination act (ENDA)
1994
• Prohibits discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity by employers with at least 15 employees.
(excludes religious organizations)
• Bill protects the LGBT employees
• Origin of the law came because of the callback gap that resulted among
openly gay men and transgender individuals that applied for jobs in
certain states.
• Only 17 states and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting
employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity. Some states that don’t follow ENDA- Texas, Arizona, Alaska,
Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina.
• EEOC- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Federal law
enforcement agency, that enforces laws against workplace discrimination.
n 2011, the Commission included "sex-stereotyping" of lesbian, gay, and
bisexual individuals as a form of sex discrimination illegal under Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. n 2012, the Commission expanded
protection provided by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to
transgender status and gender identity.
Scenerio
A transgender substitute teacher in Texas said she has been told she
should not return to her classes, after parents complained about her.
Laura Jane Klug, who was born Kurt Klug, worked as a fifth grade
substitute teacher at Lumberton Intermediate School, but was asked
not to return after some of the students' parents contacted the
school. Parents were complaining that a transgender teacher poses a
distraction to ten and eleven year old students. Klug said they
suspended her pending a decision by the school board on whether to
continue using her as a substitute teacher. Klug said that she has
substituted at the school without any issues before and she's unsure
what instigated the outrage. "I have always conducted myself in a
professional manner and would never discuss my gender identity in
school," Klug said.
Questions
• Group 1
Did the school violate any civil right laws?
• Group 2
Can Ms. Klug file suit on the basis of sex discrimination?
• Group 3
• What steps do you think the school board has to make
to legally fire Ms. Klug?
Answers
• Did the school violate any civil right laws?
Yes, they violated the ENDA, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964.
• Can Ms. Klug file suit on the basis of sex discrimination?
Texas state law does not protect employees based on their sexual
orientation or identity. But can file a complaint to the EEOC.
• What steps do you think the school board has to make to legally
fire Ms. Klug?
Can be terminated for appropriate non-discriminatory reasons, can
claim that teacher is a distraction to the learning environment, etc.
References
McPherson, Edward (2003, Dec) 1866 Civil Rights Act. Retrieved from:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/activism/ps_1866.html
Legal Case Review (2010) Civil Rights Acts. Retrieved from: http://civilrights.uslegal.com
Head, Tom (2014) History of the Civil Rights Era. Retrieved from:
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/raceequalopportunity/ig/History-of-Black-CivilRights/Civil-Rights-Era--1954-1968-.htm
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Equality and the Constitution. Retrieved June
23, 2014 from http://www.shmoop.com/equal-protection/equality-constitution.html
Summary of Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 16 S. Ct. 1138, 41 L. Ed. 256 (1896). Retrieved
from http://www.lawnix.com/cases/plessy-ferguson.html
Human Rights Campaign (2014, June). Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Retrieved from:
http://www.hrc.org/laws-and-legislation/federal-legislation/employment-nondiscrimination-act
Disability (
References
• Summary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct.
686, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954). Retrieved from:
http://www.lawnix.com/cases/brown-board-education.html
• Johnson signs Civil Rights Act. (2014). The History Channel website.
Retrieved 5:34, June 23, 2014, from http://www.history.com/this-day-inhistory/johnson-signs-civil-rights-act.
• "GROVE CITY COLLEGE v. BELL,(June 19, 2014) The Oyez Project
at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/19801989/1983/1983_82_792.
• Judicial learning center Team. (2012). Civil Rights and Equal Protection.
Retrieved from :http://judiciallearningcenter.org/civil-rights-and-equalprotection/