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Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS

This text explores the challenges faced by African-Americans in the civil rights movement, including discrimination, segregation, and the struggle for equal rights. It examines the role of public opinion and the courts in bringing about change.

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Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS

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  1. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS • The pertinent question regarding civil rights is not whether the government has the authority to treat people differently; it is whether such differences in treatment are reasonable • Classifying people on basis of race or ethnicity is “unreasonable” • “suspect classifications” • Strict scrutiny • Victimized groups – Native Americans, Japanese-Americans, Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, and women • Text uses black-white relations to illustrate • Most of landmark laws and court decisions have involved claims of African-Americans

  2. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN PREDICAMENT • Denied the right to vote, attend integrated schools, ride in front seat of buses, or buy homes in white neighborhoods • In terms of interest group politics, blacks at a disadvantage ---opponents feel deeply threatened----black gains often appeared to be at the expense of lower-income whites • In addition, blacks had been denied access to the political system…..how?

  3. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN PREDICAMENT • In terms of majoritarian politics, works to disadvantage of blacks • Because of white attitudes, this was the case even when white and black interests were not directly in competition • Even though the average black represented no threat to the average white, anti-black attitudes (racism) produced some appalling actions

  4. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS The African- American Predicament • Between 1882-1946, 4,715 people were lynched in the U.S.; ¾ of these people were black • 1942 - national poll – only 30% of whites thought that black and white children should attend same schools • By 1956 – only 40% (after Brown decision) • In South, the numbers are even worse • In 1956, 14 % of whites favored integration • In 1963 – 31% of whites favored integration • 1956, majority of southern whites were opposed to integrated public transportation • Even moderate whites thought demonstration hurt blacks

  5. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS The African-American Predicament • As a result of attitudes before 1960s, it was difficult for blacks to advance their interests through a feasible legislative strategy. • If black interests were to be championed in Congress/state legislatures, blacks would have to have white allies. • But, there were too few white allies….. • Need to make a change….but, how??

  6. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS The African-American Predicament • Civil Rights leaders need to recruit allies (very difficult) • Need to change PUBLIC OPINION • Dramatize/publicize grievances in order to broaden base of support among political elites and the general public

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  9. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS • Change came slowly so…… • Shift focus to policy-making arena where opposition enjoyed less of an advantage • FEDERAL COURTS • Raise position of Civil Rights matters from a low to a high position on the political agenda

  10. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS TWO-PRONG ATTACK • Public opinion • the Courts

  11. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGN IN THE COURTS • 14TH Amendment (1868) • Opportunity and problem for black activists • It seemed to guarantee equal rights for all • “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S.; 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.” • Key phrase “Equal Protection of the Law”

  12. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS SO, WHAT DOES “EQUAL PROTECTION OF LAW” MEAN??? • At first courts took narrow view • Applied only to legal matters • Examples – juries, signing contracts, buy and sell property

  13. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS PLESSY V. FERGUSON (1896) • Determined legal status of 14th Amendment for ½ century • SEPARATE BUT EQUAL • Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” facilities were constitutional because if “one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the U.S. cannot put them on the same plane.”

  14. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS SEPARATE BUT EQUAL • Applied to schools • Segregated • Courts seemed to be saying schools could be separate and unequal • NAACP – formed in 1909 – legal battle to undo “separate but equal” • Court based approach has advantages • Doesn’t require support of public opinion • Remain non-partisan • NEED COURTS TO BROADEN INTERPRETATION OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT

  15. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS THREE STEPS – PERSUADE COURTS TO… • Declare unconstitutional laws creating schools that are separate and obviously unequal (see text) • Declare unconstitutional laws supporting schools that were separate but unequal in not so obvious ways (see text) • Rule that racially separate schools were inherently unequal and hence unconstitutional (Brown case)

  16. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS Do Now: • Which clause in the 14th amendment has been at the center of most civil rights cases? • How did the Supreme Court originally interpret that clause? • What was the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson? • What civil rights organization created in 1909 was instrumental in broadening the interpretation of the 14th amendment?

  17. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS CAN SEPARATE SCHOOLS BE EQUAL? • Court cases – 1938-1948 • 3rd step achieved in Topeka, Kansas • Linda Brown • May 17, 1954 – unanimous Supreme Court • Chief Justice Earl Warren • “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place” because “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” • “separate but equal” was dead

  18. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS IMPLEMENTATION • Class action suit • Applied to all similarly situated • Local desegregation plans • Local federal district courts oversee end of segregation • In South, “all deliberate speed” was a snail’s pace • MASSIVE RESISTANCE • Not until 1970s - resistance collapsed and most southern schools – integrated • FEDERAL AID – INTEGRATED SCHOOLD • FEDERAL AID DENIED – SEGREGATED SCHOOLS • BY 1970, only 14% of southern black school children still attended all black schools

  19. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS THE RATIONALE • Segregated education is bad because it “has a detrimental effect upon the colored children” by generating “a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community” that may “affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone” DESEGREGATION V. INTEGRATION • DESEGREGATED – one that blacks and whites were free to attend if they chose • INTEGRATED – one that blacks and whites in fact attended whether they wanted to or not • SEGREGATION BY LAW (DE JURE) – clearly unconstitutional • SEGREGATION IN FACT (DE FACTO) – North; residential segregation; drawing of district school lines

  20. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS SWANN V. CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG BOARD OF EDUCATION (1968) • “Freedom of Choice” plan • Choose where to go • White children choose white school • 85% of black children remained in all black school • Court rejected this plan as unconstitutional because it did not produce “ultimate end” which was a unitary, non-racial system of education • Justice William Brennan (opinion) • Seemed to be saying that the Constitution required actual racial mixing in schools, not just repeal of laws requiring racial separation • Three (3) years later – BUSING ORDERED – achieve integration

  21. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS REDISTRICTING AND BUSING PLANS ORDERED • Intercity busing authorized only if it could be demonstrated that the suburban areas (as well as central city) had in fact practiced school segregation • If district goes all black because whites move – Court will not require constant redrawing • As long as blacks and whites live in different neighborhoods – chances are schools will be heavily one race • 1992 – DeKalb County (suburb of Atlanta) • Court held that the local schools could not be held responsible for segregation caused solely by segregated living patterns and so the Courts would have to relinquish their control over schools • WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MANDATORY BUSING TO ACHIEVE RACIAL INTEGRATION?

  22. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS THE CAMPAIGN IN CONGRESS • To get Civil Rights laws out of Congress was far more difficult and decentralized strategy • Aimed at mobilizing public opinion • Convince people that something had to be done • Arrange for dramatic confrontations • Late 1950s – sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, “freedom-rides” on segregated bus lines, voter registration drives • 1955-1956 – Montgomery, Alabama • Martin Luther King Jr. • Rosa Parks • Nonviolent civil disobedience • At the same time, militant organizations formed (riots – 1964-1968 – summers of racial violence)

  23. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS • Demonstrations /rioting got civil rights on the national political agenda • CIVIL RIGHTS ACT (1964) • VOTING RIGHTS ACT (1965) • 1960 – less than 1/3 of voting-age blacks were registered • By 1971 more than ½ were • By 1984 2/3 were • REMAINING ISSUES • Economic progress • Improvement of housing and neighborhoods • Manpower development (education, job training) • Racial profiling

  24. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS Do Now: • What clause of the constitution is at the center of the landmark civil rights cases in U.S. history? • Why is the S.C. ruling in the Brown case hugely significant? • What is the significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

  25. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS WHAT IS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION? • What is more important – “equality of results” or “equality of opportunity”? • Is affirmative action justified as a way to redress the effects of past discrimination? • Is affirmative action “reverse discrimination” and therefore a violation of the “equal protection” clause of the 14th amendment?

  26. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS WOMEN AND CIVIL RIGHTS • What is the ERA? • Why wasn’t it ratified? • Should the ERA have been ratified? • Should women be allowed to serve in combat units? (the ban was lifted entirely by January 2013) • Is Roe v. Wade a correct application of the “right to privacy”? (Do you believe that the Constitution implies a “right to privacy”?) • Does the Family Leave Act (1993) do enough? (12 weeks unpaid leave) • What is the doctrine of “Comparable Worth”? Do you support it? Explain.

  27. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS HOMOSEXUALS AND CIVIL RIGHTS • CIVIL UNIONS AND GAY MARRIAGE • DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT (DOMA) • GAYS IN THE MILITARY – “DON’T ASK; DON’T TELL” – REPEALED UNDER OBAMA • SHOULD HOMOSEXUAL ACTS BE ILLEGAL? (sodomy laws)

  28. Aim: CIVIL RIGHTS IMMIGRATION • Illegal immigrants and the 14th Amendment • “…state may not deny any person…” • Access to public education, medical care, unemployment…

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