Civil+Rights

=Early Discrimination: =

__Jim Crow Laws__

 * State and local laws enacted in the South from the late 1800's to mid 1960's
 * Supposed to make things "separate but equal" for African Americans and White Americans
 * Segregated schools, restaurants, restrooms, and other public facilities between races
 * Eventually repealed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

__De Jure vs De Facto Segregation__
 * De Jure = segregation that is required by law
 * Commonly seen in Southern States
 * People forced to go to different facilities based on race
 * De Facto = segregation that occurs as a matter of custom instead of law
 * Developed as a response to social and economic factors
 * Ex: neighborhoods that become predominately black or white

__NAACP__

 * National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
 * African-American civil rights organization
 * Goal is to "ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination"
 * Throughout its past has lead protests against racism and has been a leading proponent of desegregation

__Use of busing to integrate - how did it work? What was the response to it?__

 * Assigning children to certain public schools, and transporting them there as well
 * Done in order to eliminate racial segregation in schools, and to overcome the effects that residential segregation had on local schools
 * Program was not as effective as hoped, and was meet with resistance in certain areas
 * Restore Our Alienated Rights Movement in Boston, Mass.
 * Some assigned schools were many miles away from the child's home, which angered parents, especially when there were other public schools closer to home
 * Many white families also moved to suburbs, or enrolled their children in private schools
 * This made many urban schools predominately nonwhite, which hampered the effectiveness of the program

=Civil Rights Cases: =

__Brown v Board of Education:__ **Who v Who?** - Oliver L. Brown and thirteen parents sued the Topeka Board of Education over the school district's policy on racial segregation in schools.
 * The Decision** - The court decided that segregation was protected against by the Constitution (14th Amendment of the Bill of Rights), and the separation of blacks and whites in schools was harmful to blacks and unconstitutional. This decision was reached by unanimous opinion, only after rehearing the case in the fall of 1953.
 * Impact** - This case overturned the decision in //Plessy v Ferguson//. It outlawed segregation in schools, and with the unanimous opinion making a statement against any opposing the the decision.

__Plessy v Ferguson:__
 * Who v Who?** - Homer Plessy, an "octoroon" (1/8 black descent, 7/8 caucasian), brought his case to the U.S. Supreme Court against Justice John Ferguson of the Louisiana Supreme Court that Louisiana's Separate Car Act violated his rights outlined in the 13th and 14th Amendments.
 * The Decision** - In a 7-1 decision (one justice was absent) the Court ruled in favor of Ferguson and the State of Louisiana, finding nothing unconstitutional about the law forcing whites and coloreds to sit in different railway cars, stating it was a part of public policy.
 * Impact** - The ruling strengthened the idea of "separate but equal" which led to some expansion of segregation up until the Civil Rights movement of the mid-1900s.

__Rostker v Goldberg__:
 * Who v Who?** - Robert Rotsker and several men challenged Congress on the grounds that the reestablishment of the military draft NOT including women was unconstitutional.
 * The Decision** - The original decision stood with a 6-3 vote, keeping the draft a requirement for men only.
 * Impact** - This case showcased Congress' power to negotiate laws affecting the structuring of a military force, while not leaving much of a lasting impact on gender discrimination.

=Legislative Action: =

__Civil Rights Act of 1964__ >
 * It made racial discrimination against any groups in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination.It outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, namely racial segregation. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirement and segregation in schools, the workplace, and public facilities. It outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. It encouraged the desegregation of public schools and authorized the U.S. Attorney General to file suits to enforce this act. It also prevented discrimination by government agencies that received federal funds. Even though this act wasn't strongly enforced at first, it gained more power during later years.

__24th Amendment__ >
 * This amendment declared poll taxes void in federal elections. Poll taxes were enacted in many southern states to keep blacks from voting. By banning the poll tax, many more blacks, women, and members of lower socio-economic classes were legally allowed to vote in federal elections.

__Voting Rights Act of 1965__ >
 * This act prohibited states from using discriminatory practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the United States. Such practices included the Jim Crow laws, literacy tests, poll taxes, and the grandfather clause. This act declared what the states were doing as unconstitutional.