1. Equal Rights: Struggling Toward Fairness
Chapter 5

2. Equality through Law
The Fourteenth Amendment equal-protection clause forbids states from denying equal protection to citizens
Segregation in the schools
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) banned forced segregation in schools
Little change to segregation 15 years later
Supreme Court encouraged busing as solution to segregation; highly controversial, mixed results
Busing ended by Still substantial segregation

3. Equality through Law Judicial tests of equal protection
Strict-scrutiny test
Suspect category—assumed unconstitutional in the absence of an overwhelming justification
Applies to race, ethnicity, etc. = suspect classifications
Intermediate scrutiny
Almost suspect —assumed unconstitutional unless the law serves a clearly compelling and justified purpose; applies to gender
Reasonable-basis test
Not suspect category—assumed constitutional unless no sound rationale for the law can be provided; applies to age, income, etc.

4. 146 table 5-1

5. Equality through Law The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Accommodations and jobs
Public accommodations cannot refuse to serve customers based on race
Most employers cannot refuse to consider applicants based on race

6. Equality through Law The black civil rights movement
Impetus behind Civil Rights Act of 1964
Busing boycott led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Strong resistance to Civil Rights Act, but ultimately successful

7. Percent Democratic Identifiers
150

8. Equality through Law The movement for women’s rights Seneca Falls
Women acquire the right to vote in 1920 with Nineteenth Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment: passed Congress but failed ratification by a narrow margin

9. Equality through Law Hispanic Americans and the farm workers’ strikes
Strikes in 1960s and 70s, largely for migrant workers’ rights; most success in California
Native Americans and their long-delayed rights
Granted citizenship in 1924
Protests in 1970s; greater control over own affairs
1968 Indian Bill of Rights

10. Equality through Law Asian Americans and immigration
Long tradition of immigration restriction, ended 1965
Some legal victories in field of education

11. 153 fig 5-1

12. Equality through Law Barring of whites-only primaries, 1940s
Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibited poll taxes, 1960s
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Voting Rights Act of 1965 allowed federal agents to oversee voter registration
States prevented from creating election districts that deliberately dilute the minority vote, or to give it control
Weakened significantly by the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County v. Holder

13. Equality through Law The Civil Rights Act of 1968
Addresses discrimination in housing
Prohibition of redlining
Still strong patterns of housing segregation
African Americans and Hispanics still have more difficulty obtaining mortgages than whites with comparable income levels

14. Equality through Law Affirmative action Focus on “equality of result”
De facto discrimination
Social, economic, cultural biases—discrimination
De jure discrimination
Specific law—discrimination

15. Equality through Law Affirmative action
Full and equal opportunities for all in education, employment, etc.
Controversy over ends and means
Affirmative action in law
University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978)
Adarand v. Pena (1995)
Schwette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2014)

16. The Continuing Struggle for Equality
African Americans
Aftermath of the civil rights movement
Continuing high disparity in income
Discrepancies in convictions and sentencing
High rate of dissolution of black families
Movement into political office

17. Family Structure by Race and Ethnicity
162 fig 5-2

18. The Continuing Struggle for Equality
Women
Electoral and political successes
Job-related issues
Lack of job equality
Family leave
Gender pay equity
Sexual harassment
“Feminization of poverty”

19. Percentage of Families Living in Poverty, by Family Composition
165 fig 5-3

20. The Continuing Struggle for Equality
Native Americans
Suits to regain land
Negative discrepancy in health, wealth, and education
Casinos; rising income but controversial

21. The Continuing Struggle for Equality
Hispanic Americans
Immigration and legal residence issues
Fastest growing minority
Electoral success

22. The Continuing Struggle for Equality
Asian Americans
About 12 million Asian Americans
Emphasis on academic achievement in Asian American communities
Upwardly mobile group
Still significant discrimination that hinders Asian Americans from gaining high-level positions in companies

23. The Continuing Struggle for Equality
Gays and lesbians
Legal victories: Romer v. Evans, Lawrence v. Texas
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act in 2010: gays and lesbians can now serve openly in the armed services
2013 Supreme Court invalidates part of the Defense of Marriage Act, allowing same-sex couples the same federal benefits as male-female couples
Same-sex marriage recognized in several states through legislative and judicial action

24. Opinions on Same-Sex Marriage
172 figure 5-4

25. The Continuing Struggle for Equality
Other disadvantaged groups
Older Americans
Age Discrimination Act and Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Disabled Americans
Americans with Disabilities Act

26. Discrimination: Surface Differences, Deep Divisions
America’s high ideals often clash with its history
Frequent tendency or desire to avoid retelling the negative aspects of American history