1. CIVIL RIGHTS 14th Amendment
Definition – policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals
14th Amendment
No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
race, national origin, religion, and sex
due process and equal protection clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments

2. Civil Rights Act of 1964
Ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin >> ended Jim Crow Laws
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964) – visitors are an interstate commerce connection. Must serve everyone.

3. Supreme Court Tests
New law - Chinese people cannot drive more than 55 at night because of bad night vision (assume that it was a real thing).
Constitutional? No
Suspect class - race and ethnicity, are considered to be inherently suspect. In such cases, the burden of proof is on the lawmaker to prove:
compelling public interest
no other way
legitimate purpose
It is virtually impossible for a law to pass this standard. Can you imagine a legitimate law that discriminates on the basis of race or ethnicity? What sort of compelling public interest would it serve?

4. Supreme Court Tests
New law – Women cannot drive more than 55 at night because of bad night vision (assume that it was a real thing).
Constitutional? No
Laws that discriminate on the basis of gender have a lower standard to meet. They must bear only a:
substantial relationship
important government purpose.
The law restricting the military draft to men has been upheld as constitutional under this standard
Why is there a difference?

5. Supreme Court Tests
New law - People cannot drive more than 55 at night because of bad night vision (assume that it was a real thing).
Constitutional?
Yes, affects everyone.
rational relationship to a legitimate government purpose.
You must be 21 to vote for mayor.
Yes, age is a reasonable classification for voting. A law that only allowed those with blue eyes or red hair to vote would be arbitrary and unconstitutional.

6. PRIVACY RIGHTS - HOMOSEXUALS
Lawrence v. Texas (2003) – Court struck down Texas sodomy law through use of “liberty” part of 14th Amendment’s due process clause
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) – Same-sex couples right to marry is protected by the due process clause and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment
Most effective way to secure rights has been through litigation in the courts to gain protections against discrimination

7. Protecting Voting Rights – 15th Amendment - "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,"
1877 Federal troops withdraw
Literacy tests
Poll taxes – Eliminated by the 24th Amendment
Grandfather clauses – allowed illiterate and poor whites to vote
Jim Crow Laws - separated the races
White Primaries – keep AA out of the race
Racial Gerrymandering
Registration Requirements
Intimidation

8. THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965
Provisions
Requires that states that had a history of denying African‑Americans the right to vote must clear any changes in any voting practice or laws that might result in dilution of voting power with the Department of Justice (some have since been struck down)
Eliminated literacy tests
Empowered federal officials to register voters
Empowered federal officials to ensure that citizens could vote (w/ marshals)
Empowered federal officials to count ballots
Requires states to include ballots in languages other than English if a significant number of non-English speakers reside in an area
Effects
Huge increase in black turnout
Large increase in number of black elected officials
Forced white elected officials to take into account the needs of blacks

9. What do the numbers show?
What impact did the 1965 Voting Rights Act have on black voter registration?
Which states had the lowest voter registration before the law?
Which states experienced the greatest increases in registration?
Is there a regional trend regarding registration among these Southern states?

10. BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954)
The Court reversed its Plessy decision; segregation is itself discrimination (separate‑but‑equal unconstitutional)
Brown I was the end of segregation - racially segregated system did damage to the black child's psyche and instilled feelings of inferiority - the separation itself was inherently unequal
Used the equal protection clause.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stipulates that federal dollars under any grant or project be withdrawn from a school that discriminates (Civil Rights Act of 1964 essentially ends Jim Crow laws)

11. FROM SEGREGATION TO DESEGREGATION
de jure segregation – segregation imposed by law
Supreme Court sustained the right of judges to order busing to overcome de jure segregation
de jure segregation doesn’t exist in America today
de facto segregation – segregation resulting from economic, social conditions or personal choice
The Court has refused to permit judges to order busing to overcome the effects of de facto segregation
de facto segregation still exists in America legally today (i.e. neighborhoods)

12. THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CONTROVERSY
Affirmative action - policies requiring special efforts in employment, promotion, or school admissions on behalf of disadvantaged groups
The goal of affirmative action is to move beyond equal opportunity toward equal results.
Some groups have claimed that affirmative action programs constitute “reverse discrimination.”
Constitutionality of affirmative action programs
University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978)
Quotas cannot be used for admissions (cannot reserve seats for racial minority groups)
Affirmative action programs are not necessarily unconstitutional
Reaffirming the Importance of Diversity
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003) – race cannot be used as a “bonus” point
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) – race can be one of the factors to be considered in admissions