Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

1. Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Chapters 5 & 6

2. Background of the Civil Rights Movement • Until fairly recently in our history, African Americans could not: • Vote • Attend integrated schools • Sit in front seats of buses • Buy homes in white neighborhoods

3. 2 Main Reasons • There are 2 main reasons that accounts for the slow pace with which African Americans attained their civil rights • 1. Politically dominant white minorities in the South feared potential competition for jobs, land, public services, and living space from African Americans • 2. The white minority at the national level opposed African Americans from organizing politically

4. Background of Civil Rights Movement • Progress in achieving civil rights for African Americans depended on • Finding more white allies • Shifting to a more policy-making arena • Civil rights leaders broadened their base by publicizing the denial to African Americans of essential, widely accepted liberties • Ex – voting and organizing

5. Background of Civil Rights Movement • They turned what had been perceived as an interest group set of issues into majoritarian issues • Also moved their legal and political struggle from Congress to the federal courts

6. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • 14th Amendment – 1868 • Both an opportunity & problem for black activists • A narrow interpretation of the amendment argued that African Americans had equal legal rights but could otherwise be treated differently than whites

7. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) • Adopted the narrow view • Found separate-but-equal to be constitutional

8. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) • Established 1909 • Lobby Washington • Publicize black grievances • Most influential role – played in the courtroom

9. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • Fought the separate but equal doctrine • Established a 3 step process to attack school segregation • 1. Persuade the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the laws creating schools that were separate but obviously unequal • In regards to funding, facilities, faculty, etc. • 2. Persuade the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the laws creating schools that were separate but not so obviously equal

10. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • 3. Have the Supreme Court rule that separate schools are inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional • In a series of court cases that stretched from 1938-1954, NAACP implemented its strategy

11. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • Brown v. Board of Education 1954 • Supreme Court ruled that separate schools were inherently unequal • Overturn Plessy in a unanimous decision • Brown was a landmark decision • Reasons for it and the means chosen to implement it were important & controversial

12. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • 3 issues emerged from the decision: • 1 – Implementation • A class-action lawsuit that applied to all similarly situated African American students • Court later ruled that integration should proceed in public schools “with all deliberate speed” • In the South – turned out to be a snail’s pace

13. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • 1 – Implementation, cont. • 1956 – More than 100 southern members of Congress signed a “Southern Manifesto” • Condemned the Brown decision as an abuse of judicial power • Pledged to use all lawful means to reverse the decision • Late 1950s – early 1960s – National Guard and regular army paratroopers were used to escort black students into formally all-white schools and universities

14. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • 2 – Rationale • Decision in Brown argued that segregation was detrimental to African American students • Created a sense of inferiority • Court relied on the findings of social science

15. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • 3 – Desegregation versus Integration • South - segregation by law (de jure) was clearly unconstitutional as a result of Brown • North – segregation was the result of residential segregation (de facto) • Integration came to be defined by the Court as a “unitary, nonracial system of education”

16. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • Swann V. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971) • Set guidelines for all subsequent cases involving school integration: • To violate the Constitution, a school system must have intended to discriminate • A one-race school creates a presumption of intent to discriminate • Remedies for past discrimination can include quotas, busing and redrawn district lines • Not every school must reflect the racial composition of the entire system

17. Civil Rights Movement in the Courts • Result of Swann • White flight to suburbs • One issue not settled by Swann • Whether bussing and other remedies should cut across school district lines • Court later ruled that intercity busing could be authorized only if both the city and the suburbs had practiced segregation • Court believed – in some cities there had been intent to segregate and busing was necessary

18. Civil Rights Movements in Congress • Getting Congress to pass new civil rights laws required a far more difficult and decentralized strategy than campaigning in the federal courts • This part of the movement aimed at: • Mobilizing public opinion • Overcoming the many congressional barriers to action

19. Civil Rights Movements in Congress • 1st strategy – get civil rights issues on the political agenda by mobilizing public opinion through dramatic events • Sit-ins at segregated lunch counters • “Freedom rides” on segregated bus lines • Made headlines in newspapers 2nd strategy – efforts were made to get blacks registered to vote in counties where whites had used intimidation & harassment to prevent registration of blacks

20. Civil Rights Movements in Congress Rosa Parks • Started a boycott in Montgomery, AL • Organized by Martin Luther King, Jr. • She refused to surrender her seat to a white man • Early demonstrations were based on the philosophy of nonviolent civil disobedience • Peaceful violation of a law

21. Civil Rights Movements in Congress • Later, racial violence and riots erupted when more militant organizations became involved in the civil rights movement • This mobilization of public opinion had mixed results • It succeeded in getting civil rights on the national political agenda • Yet, it set back coalition-building because demonstrations and riots were seen as law-breaking by many whites

22. Civil Rights Movements in Congress • In Congress opponents of civil rights had strong defensive positions • Southern Democrats controlled the House Rules Committee • A filibuster in the Senate occurred when civil rights legislation came to the floor • President Kennedy was reluctant to submit strong civil rights legislation

23. Civil Rights Movements in Congress • 4 developments changed the civil rights movement’s chances in Congress: • 1 – Public opinion became more favorable toward the movement as the years wore on • 2 – Violent reactions by white segregationists received extensive coverage by the media • 3 – The assassination of President Kennedy (1963) gave his successor, President Johnson, a period of strong relations with Congress and a mythical hero figure to refer to in promoting civil rights

24. Civil Rights Movements in Congress • The 1964 election was a Democratic landslide that allowed northern Democrats to seize power in Congress • 5 important civil rights bills were passed between 1957-1968 • Significant voting rights laws were passed in 1957 • A housing discrimination law was passed in 1968

25. Civil Rights Movements in Congress • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • High point of civil rights legislation • Assured equality of opportunity: • Employment • Public accommodations • Voting • Schools • Most important result of civil rights movement • Dramatic rise in African American voting • Changes in the opinions of whites regarding civil rights

26. Women & Equal Rights • The feminist movement that reappeared in the 1960s questioned the claim that women differed from men in ways that justified differences in legal status • Congress responded by passing laws that required: • Equal pay for equal work • Prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in employment & public education • Banned discrimination against pregnant women on the job

27. Women & Equal Rights • Supreme Court had a choice between two standards in considering sex discrimination • 1 – The reasonableness standard • Hold that when the government treats some classes of people different from others, the different treatment must be reasonable, not arbitrary

28. Women & Equal Rights • 2 – The strict scrutiny standard • Holds that some instances of drawing distinctions between different groups are inherently suspect • This is the standard that used for racial discrimination • Thus, the Court will subject those cases to strict scrutiny to ensure that they are clearly necessary to attain a legitimate state goal

29. Women & Equal Rights • When women complained that some laws treated them unfairly, the Court adopted a mid-level standard somewhere between the reasonable & strict scrutiny tests • Ex – the courts prohibit gender-based differences when applied to the age of adulthood, drinking age, arbitrary employee height & weight requirements, & mandatory pregnancy leaves

30. Women & Equal Rights • Gender-based differences are allowed by the courts in areas such as: • Statutory rape • All-boy/all-girl public schools • Delayed promotions in the Navy • The rights of women have been determined by 3 far-reaching areas:

31. Women & Equal Rights • 1 – The draft • Rostker v. Goldberg (1981) • S.C. held that Congress can require men but not women to register for the draft without violating the due-process clause of the 5th amendment • 1993 – secretary of defense allowed women to have air and sea combat positions but not ground combat positions • These decisions remain controversial

32. Women & Equal Rights • 2 – Sexual Harassment • 2 forms • 1 – quid pro quo – in which sexual favors are expected in return for holding a job or gaining a promotion • Employers are strictly liable for this form of harassment • 2 – hostile environment – creating a setting in which harassment impairs a person’s ability to work • Employers are liable in this form if they are negligent

33. Women & Equal Rights • 3 – Abortion • Left to the states until 1973 • Roe v. Wade – S.C. struck down a Texas ban on abortion & all similar state laws • Hold that a woman’s freedom to choose an abortion is protected by the 14th amendment in the 1st trimester of pregnancy • 2nd trimester – also left up to the woman, but states are allowed to pass reasonable regulations to protect mother’s health

34. Women & Equal Rights • 3rd trimester – states can ban abortion because the fetus is viable • Constitutional amendments to overturn Roe have failed • However, there have been successful attempts to restrict abortions

35. Women & Equal Rights • 1976 – Congress barred the use of federal funds to pay for abortions except when the life of the mother is at stake • 1989 – The S.C. first upheld the right of states to impose some restrictions on abortion • 1992 – In Casey v. Planned Parenthood the Court permitted more restrictions, such as a 24 hour waiting period & parental consent for teenagers. A spousal consent requirement was overturned

36. Affirmative Action • The politics of civil rights are expressed in one of two views • 1 – Advocates equality of results • View that assumption is that racism & sexism can be overcome only when remedies change the results • Equal rights are not thought to be enough • People need benefits as well • Argue that affirmative action – preferential practices – should be used in hiring & college admissions decisions

37. Affirmative Action • 2nd view – advocates equality of opportunities • Believe that reverse discrimination occurs when race or sex is used as a basis for preferential treatment • Laws should be color-blind & sex neutral • Bakke case 1978 – S.C. ruled that numerical minority quotas are not permissible but that race could be considered in admission policies

38. Affirmative Action • The Court supports the concept of affirmative action, but it is reluctant to support the use of quotas • Court has ruled that affirmative action programs must be “narrowly tailored” to achieve a “compelling goal” • Standards are emerging for quotas & preferences systems, including:

39. Affirmative Action 1 – Quota systems are subjected to strict scrutiny, and there must be a compelling state interest to justify quotas 2 – Quotas must correct an actual pattern of discrimination 3 – Quotas must identify actual practices that discriminate 4 – Federal quotas will be given deference because the Constitution give Congress greater power to correct the effects of racial discrimination 5 – Preferences are acceptable for the purpose of achieving diversity

40. Affirmative Action • Public generally supports compensatory action (helping minorities catch up), but not preferential treatment • This is in line with American political culture • Supports individualism but also those in need

41. Affirmative Action • Conflicts persist in other areas of civil rights • Immigration rights & the rights of enemy combatants are bound to provoke more rulings from the S.C. in the future • An area that is already receiving widespread attention – gay rights • In the past, sexual conduct has been regulated by the states

42. Affirmative Action • S.C. has overturned some state laws that ban certain sexual practices by citing the privacy rights implied in the 4th & 14th amendments • Yet other ruling have not upheld gay rights • Ex – Boy Scouts’ right to exclude gays • Gay rights remain controversial