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vizhenz
Staff
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Posted: Dec 11th, 2005 02:45 AM |
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Civil rights means that people have the right to be treated the same regardless of their race, gender, or religion. These rights are law in the United States and many other nations
The Declaration of Independence, issued on July 4, 1776, stated "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal..." Yet the new nation declaring its independence permitted the continuation of the practice of slavery for people of African heritage - a practice that continued until the Civil War in the 1860s.
13th Amendment in 1865 -- abolished slavery, but did not give blacks equality
15th Amendment adopted in 1879, made it against the law to deny any citizen the right to vote because of his or her race or color or because he or she was formerly a slave Despite the promises of these new laws, the former slaves and their descendants, along with other racial and ethnic minorities, did not receive equal treatment under the law
1896, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that State governments could separate people of different races as long as the separate facilities were equal. This "separate but equal" doctrine lasted until 1954 when the Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in cases involving schools in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. Also in the 1890s, African-Americans were kept from exercising their right to vote by taxes, called "poll taxes", that had to be paid before a person could cast a vote and by tests given by voting registrars who had the power to pass or fail an applicant based on the color of his or her skin. Poll taxes and voting tests were finally outlawed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
19th Amendment in 1920 -- "The rights of citizens...to vote shall not be denied or abridged...on account of sex."
1965 Executive Order 11246 -- affirmative action requirements of government contractors and subcontractors
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act -- Title I prohibits disability discrimination by employers. Titles II and III require disability access in all places of public accommodation and business for first occupancy after January 26, 1993 or for occupancy for new alterations, and all state and local government facilities, after January 26, 1992
Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 -- disabled access required for multi-family housing intended for first occupancy after March 13, 1991. Civil rights act of 1866…. race, color, ancestry rights only.
Until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, persons from minority groups were excluded from, or segregated in, restaurants, motels, theaters, and other places of public accommodations.
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in the public schools was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. But implementation of the Court's decision went slowly, with massive resistance from the states.
In 1957, a federal court ordered the desegregation of public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Governor of Arkansas, ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the 9 black children who were enrolled in Central High School from attending the school.
These students were prevented from attending the school until President Eisenhower made the National Guard part of the federal army and also sent paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army to protect these 9 children. September 1958, the Governor closed all the schools in Little Rock to prevent any more black children from attending white schools. The schools remained closed until August 1959, when the U.S. Supreme Court ordered them re-opened.
Federal criminal civil rights laws prohibit certain hate crimes based on race, color or national origin, prohibit police brutality, prohibit church burnings, violence against health care providers, and the transport of persons, particularly women and children, for the purpose of enslavement or forced labor.
In 1957, Congress enacted the first civil rights law since the period following the Civil War. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the authority for establishing a civil rights office at the Department of Justice.
As time went on, more civil rights acts were passed expanding the rights that the Division's lawyers would enforce. In 2002, the Division has more than 350 lawyers dedicated to the enforcement of civil rights laws.
Although often associated with the plight of African Americans, other groups have also fought for their civil rights including women, immigrant groups (Irish, Chinese, Japanese), and religious groups.
Civil Rights timeline:
http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/civilrights/a/timelinecivrght.htm
These are my notes from class, but if you look up the "Civil Rights Laws" you can find more information than what is posted here.
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