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Civil Rights

Civil Rights. Civil Rights. What are they? Who has needed to fight them? African Americans Women Native Americans Hispanic Americans Asian Americans Older Americans Disabled Americans Gays and Lesbians Rarely achieved a greater measure of justice without a struggle. African Americans.

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Civil Rights

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  1. Civil Rights

  2. Civil Rights • What are they? • Who has needed to fight them? • African Americans • Women • Native Americans • Hispanic Americans • Asian Americans • Older Americans • Disabled Americans • Gays and Lesbians • Rarely achieved a greater measure of justice without a struggle

  3. African Americans • Brown v. Board (1954) • 1963 televised march in Birmingham • March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Public facilities and no job discrimination • Voting Rights Act of 1965 • Political representation today • Still below proportion…but rising sharply

  4. Women • 1848—Seneca Falls—Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton • Nineteenth Amendment • Equal Pay Act of 1963 • Title IX—1972 • Equal Credit Act of 1974 • Not close politically to equality • Gender gap • Educational abilities today • Glass ceiling • Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

  5. Native Americans • We haven’t been very nice… • Lawsuits to reclaim lands • Reservations • College, life expectancy, poverty, infant mortality • Promote self-government and economic self-sufficiency • 1970s—Bureau of Indian Affairs and Wounded Knee • Gaming Casinos

  6. Hispanic Americans • Farmworkers’ strikes • Grapes and lettuce • Cesar Chavez • Bilingual ballots and education • What are current controversies with this group? • Growing political force • Lean Democrat (except Cuban-Americans) • Liberal on economy and conservative on social

  7. Asian Americans • Late 1800s—railroads and mines • Lau v. Nichols (1974) • Regular classrooms and 14th Amendment • Upwardly mobile • Underrepresented politically

  8. Older Americans • Age Discrimination Act of 1975 • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 • Mandatory retirement ages are not OK • In most cases • Unlike previous groups we discussed, age discrimination not prohibited by U.S. Constitution

  9. Disabled Americans • Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 • Access • Not a constitutionally protected group • Stores and delivery?

  10. Gays and Lesbians • Romer v. Evans (1996) • Had tried to eliminate protections for homosexuals • Military—don’t ask, don’t tell • Vermont—civil unions • Massachusetts—legal marriage • California battle • Most states ban it constitutionally when offered the chance

  11. Equal Protection • Thanks to the 14th Amendment • When are inequalities allowed? • Reasonable-basis test • 21 and 18 year olds drinking • Not suspect category • Intermediate scrutiny • Gender • Almost suspect category • Strict-scrutiny test • Race and ethnicity • Have to prove that it is necessary

  12. Equal Access • 14th Amendment does not prohibit discrimination by private parties • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Equal access to restaurants, bars, hotels, theaters, gas stations, etc. • Civil Rights Act of 1968 • Cannot refuse to sell or rent housing to someone based on race, religion, ethnicity, or gender • Voting Rights Act of 1965 • White-only primaries, poll taxes (24th Amendment), literacy test • Renewed many times…2006 • League of United Latin American Voters v. Perry (2006) • Shaw v. Hunt (1996) • Easley v. Cromartie(2001)

  13. Equality of Result? • De facto discrimination v. de jure discrimination • Affirmative Action • At first, burden of proof was on women • That changes in the 1960s • Disproportionate granting of opportunities to white males is a result of necessity

  14. Affirmative Action Cases • University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978) • Quotas are not OK…but racial considerations are • Adarand v. Pena (1995) • Contract issues • Gratz v. Bollinger (2003) • Undergraduate policy not OK because specific weight given to race (20/150 points) • Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) • Law school policy is OK

  15. For Thursday… • Think about the differences between the Michigan cases…does it make sense? Is it fair? • How do civil rights and civil liberties overlap? Should the government prohibit racist language and hate speech or are these protected by the First Amendment? • How do the cases R.A.V. v. St. Paul and Wisconsin v. Mitchell distinguish the difference between an individual's intentions and actions? • What should the goal of equal rights be in our country? How can we get closer to achieving actual equality?

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