Civil RightsChapter 6

Brown v. Board of Education• On May 17, 1954, a unanimous Supreme Court, speaking

through an opinion written and delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren, found that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal has no place” because “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

• With the election of our first African American President in 2008, are civil rights issues no longer a problem in our country?

• Is a comparison between North Hunterdon High School and Camden High School a Civil Rights problem?

• What solutions can solve this educational crisis!!?`

How did we get to Brown and where are we now?

• What are Civil Rights?• Rights of people to be treated without

unreasonable or unconstitutional differences- EQUAL Protection Clause-14th

• Issue is whether differences in treatment are reasonable…

• What is Strict Scrutiny and Suspect Classification?• SCOTUS has ruled that a law that classifies by

race and ethnic background is inherently suspect (suspect classification) and must therefore meet a strict scrutiny test- HIGH STANDARD• “compelling public interest”• “narrowly tailored”• “least restrictive”

The Black PredicamentPost Civil War13th, 14th, 15th Amendment• Many whites felt deeply threatened by African American

integration and political action• Racism produced some appalling actions• Progress depended on at least one of two things• Find more white allies• Shift focus to the federal courts- easier starting point than

Congress

The Campaign in the Courts• Ambiguities in the 14th Amendment-adopted in 1868“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S.; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”• Broad interpretation• Narrow interpretation• Supreme Court adopted narrow view in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Strategy to END Separate but Equal

• NAACP campaign relied on courts—litigation didn’t require broad coalitions or changing public opinion

• NAACP strategy went through a series of stages:• STEP ONE: 1938-1948-Persuade the Supreme Court to declare

unconstitutional the laws creating schools that were separate but obviously unequal• Lloyd Gaines• Ada Lois Sipuel

• STEP TWO Then persuade the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the laws creating schools that were separate but not so obviously unequal• Heman Sweatt• George McLaurin

• STEP THREE: Then have the Supreme Court rule that separate schools are inherently unequal (even if they appear to be equal) and therefore unconstitutional…

Brown v. Board of Education• Topeka, Kansas• Linda Brown wanted to enroll in school reserved exclusively for

whites• NAACP took case to federal district court- found that black school

was equal in quality to white school• Challenge in SCOTUS appeal- persuade the Court to overrule the

district judge on the grounds that racially separate schools were unconstitutional even if they were equal.

• RISKY-southern states spent more money on all black schools to make them as equal as possible• Victory could bring a loss of revenue for building new black schools

• On May 17, 1954, a unanimous Supreme Court, speaking through an opinion written and delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren, found that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal has no place” because “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

• RATIONALE- MORE Social Science Explanation than 14th Amendment!

Now what…

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcRpcLy7kfw (1:34)

Now what…• Desegregation vs. integration- what does each require?• De jure (South) and de facto (North) segregation• Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (Virginia)-

(1968) rejection of “freedom of choice” plan because…• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg BoE (1971) set guidelines for

subsequent school integration cases• Plaintiff must show school system’s intent to discriminate• Continued existence of segregated schools in district with history of

segregation creates presumption of intent to discriminate• Remedies may include racial quotas, redrawn district lines, and

court-ordered busing• Not every school needs to reflect the composition of the district as a

whole

The current North issue… • Issue- Could you cross city and county lines? (Camden and North)• Inter-city busing could be authorized only if both the city and the

suburbs had practiced segregation• Importance of “intent” was that the Supreme Court will not

constantly redraw district lines or bus routes• White flight may create single race schools.• Integrated schools are usually found in integrated neighborhoods and

quality school systems• Busing remained controversial• Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan opposed busing.• Congress unable to pass meaningful legislation; issue had died by late

1980s• DeKalb County, GA-1992 SCOTUS decision allows busing to end if

segregation was caused solely by segregated housing patterns• 2007- Court said race could not be the decisive factor in assigning

students to schools that had either never been segregated OR where legal segregation had long since ended

• Regarding Civil Rights, can we make acceptable distinctions between different groups?• YES- Tax policy example

• What test does the Supreme court use when making suspect classifications?• Strict scrutiny

• What area of government was targeted first by the Civil Rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s?• Federal Courts first- Legislation second

• Which Amendment appeared to grant equal rights to blacks in the 50’s and 60’s?• 14th

• Plessy ruling• Separate but equal is acceptable

• Lloyd Gaines and Ada Lois Sipuel ruling?• Separate but obviously unequal is not allowed

• Heman Sweatt and George McLaurin ruling?• Separate but not so obviously unequal is not allowed

• Brown Ruling?• Separate but equal is NOT allowed (unconstitutional)

• Green v. County?• De facto segregation from “freedom of choice” is rejected

• Swann v. Charlotte?• Remedies to De facto including busing, quotas, redrawing district lines is allowed

• 1992 Court Ruling on busing to integrate?• Remedies can end if caused by de facto segregation• ESSENTIALLY QUIT- NORTH V. CAMDEN problems continue to this day….• Should we just accept that????

The Campaign in Congress…• Get issues on the political agenda by mobilizing opinion by

dramatic events• Sit-ins and freedom rides, voter registration efforts• Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks—Montgomery bus boycott• From nonviolent civil disobedience to the “long, hot summers”

of racial violence (1964–1968)

1961

Civil Disobedience vs…

Race riots (1964-1968)Detroit 1961….

• Civil Disobedience and Race Riots had Mixed results• Agenda-setting success• Coalition-building setbacks since demonstrations and riots were

seen as law-breaking by many whites• Legislative politics-deadlock• Opponents had strong defensive positions

• Senate Judiciary Committee controlled by southern Democrats• House Rules Committee controlled by Howard Smith (Virginia)• Senate filibuster threat• President Kennedy reluctant to submit strong civil rights legislation

• Four developments broke this deadlock• Public opinion changed regarding school integration and access to

public facilities• Violent reactions of segregationists received extensive coverage by

the media• Kennedy assassination-right wing conspiracy• Landslide Democratic victory in 1964 for Democrats-LBJ-House

and Senate Majority

Five Bills pass between 57-68• 1957, 1960, 1965: voting rights laws• 1968: housing discrimination law

• 1964 civil rights bill: the high point—employment, public accommodations, voting, schools• Passed when the Senate invoked cloture (3/5 or 60 votes)to end a filibuster

that lasted 83 days• Act did the following

• Ended Jim Crow Segregation by making racial discrimination illegal in hotels, motels restaurants, and other places of public accommodation.

• Prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or gender

• Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to monitor and enforce protections against job discrimination

• Authorized the Department of Justice to initiate lawsuits to desegregate public facilities and schools

• SCOTUS upheld the provisions outlawing segregation in places of public accommodation by ruling that such segregation involved interstate commerce and thus fell under the legislative authority of Congress

Federalism Legacy• One MORAL step forward ending LEGAL segregation BUT• HOW MANY STEPS backwards from a CONSERVATIVE

FEDERALIST perspective?• WHAT happened to states rights? 10th Amendment? Thomas

Jefferson? Antifederalists?• OBAMACARE• Race to the Top AND No Child Left Behind• Where does the excuse of INTERSTATE commerce and morality

end?• ARE WE DESTINED to have a UNITARY system of Government?