Continued

 Affirmative Action: called for companies and institutions doing business with the federal government to actively recruit minorities and women.  Challenges to Affirmative Action  Viewed as “reverse discrimination”  University of California Regents v. Allan Bakke  Supreme Court ruled that racial criteria could be used as part of admissions but “fixed quotas” could not be used

 The largest Hispanic group was Mexican Americans who worked on huge farms in the South and West  Many Hispanics arrived illegally  Lacked legal protection  Exploited by employers – worked under poor conditions for little pay

 Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta formed the United Farm Workers  Organized a strike against California growers  Enlisted college students, churches, and civil rights groups  17 million citizens boycotted grapes  Bilingual Education Act (1968): directed school districts to set up classes for immigrants in their own language – “bilingualism”

 1970 – Native Americans one of the smallest minority groups, less than 1% of population  Average annual income was $1,000 less than African Americans  Unemployment was 10 times higher than national rate  Suffered from discrimination, limited education, and lower life expectancy

 Declaration of Indian Purpose (1961): called for policies to create greater economic opportunities on reservations  Indian Civil Rights Act (1968): guaranteed reservation residents protection under the Bill of Rights but also local sovereignty  American Indian Movement: militant group who used symbolic protests  Alcatraz Island, California (1969) – 19 months  Wounded Knee, South Dakota (1973) – 70 days

 Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act (1975): increased funds for education and extended local control  Native Americans won a number of land and water rights  Supreme Court gave Native American groups the power to tax businesses on the reservations and perform other sovereign activities  Resorts, electric plants, oil and gas wells, casinos, etc.