1. Equality before the Law

2. Equal Protection Clause
5th amendment
14th amendment
“ No state shall deny any person equal protection under the law.”

3. Reasonable classifications
Government may not discriminate unreasonably.

4. Segregation in America
Jim Crow laws- separation of races in both public and private facilities

5. Plessy v Ferguson
1896 Supreme Court Case upheld Separate but equal.

7. Brown v Board of Ed 1954 Supreme Court case that overturned Plessey
Segregation of races in public schools unconstitutional.

8. De Jure, De facto segregation
De Jure- segregation by law
De facto- segregation by fact
Mildred and Richard Loving, who challenged Virginia's miscegenation law.

9. Courts prohibit discrimination based on gender.
Sharron Frontiero, who won a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force, with her husband Joseph.

10. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 1. no denial of public accommodations
2. prohibit discrimination against anyone based on race, color, religion or gender.
3. forbid employers to discriminate

11. The Civil Rights Act of 1968
Open housing act- no discrimination in renting or selling

12. Affirmative Action
The government takes positive steps to end the affects of past discrimination.

13. The Bakke Case
This case illustrates the concept of reverse discrimination