Chapter 19
Civil rights v. Civil liberties:
Civil
rights refers to positive actions of
the government to create a more equal society.
Civil liberties refers to
restrictions on the government that come from the Bill of Rights- they protect
us from the government.
Aim: To examine the path from separate but equal to
Brown v. Board of Ed
I.
The Fourteenth
Amendment
A.
This amendment
was interpreted in two ways
1.
Broad- we should
have a colorblind society. Blacks and
whites should be treated equally in any situation
2.
Narrow- legally
blacks cannot be treated unequally, but in social and private situations blacks
can be treated differently. This laid
the ground for the Jim Crowe Laws (separate social settings- hotels,
restaurants, etc.) and the Plessey v. Ferguson decision 1896 (schools can be
separate but equal)
4/17/12
II.
“Baby steps” to
Brown (NAACP)
A.
Overturn laws
that were unconstitutional because they created schools that were obviously
unequal
1.
Example: A state
had a law school for whites but no law school for blacks
B.
Look at
situations that are not obviously unequal but still overturn those laws
1.
Black students
had the opportunity to learn in a white school, but in a separate building so
they did not have access to things in the white section
C.
Brown v. Board
of Ed- separate but equal is inherently unequal
D.
They (NAACP) did
not go through Congress
1.
Didn’t have
popular support
2.
Needed to
overturn Plessey, which Congress didn’t have the power to do
III.
Brown v. Board
of Ed
A.
Class action
lawsuit- the decision did not only apply to Brown, but to all black kids
B.
Rationale-
psychology and sociology
1.
Black kids who
are in separate schools with have lower self esteem
2.
Why would he
(Warren- chief justice) use this instead of the Constitution?
a)
He could’ve used
the equal protection clause from the 14th Amendment to create
desegregated schools, but he didn’t because when the 14th Amendment
was written the issue of segregated schools was debated and the authors did not
intend for the amendment at the time to desegregate schools
b)
Warren wanted a
unanimous decision, so he did not want to use the 14th Amendment
because that would split the Court because some justices would think that it
was an improper use of it
3.
Some people have
labeled this case judicial activism because it used social science
C.
Implementation
1.
The district
courts would supervise the process of desegregation
2.
“All deliberate
speed”- get this done quickly
D.
Was
desegregation enough?
1.
It wasn’t just
desegregation, it was integration (make schools mixed)
2.
Goal: “unitary,
nonracial system of education”
3.
It wasn’t enough
that blacks were allowed to go to white schools, they were to be mixed and make
blacks go to white schools
4.
à
Busing to make schools integrated
5.
If the
segregated schools were because of living patterns and not a history of
segregation, there was no busing
IV.
What made it
easier for Civil rights activists to go through Congress
A.
Change in public
opinion- white sympathy
1.
Media
2.
Saw harsh
segregation (Bull Connor in Birmingham)
B.
JFK’s
assassination
C.
1964 Democrats
won a lot of seats in Congress
D.
1964 Civil
Rights Act
1.
Ended
discrimination in public accommodations (hotels, restaurants, etc.)
2.
Used commerce
clause to make and enforce the act
4/19/12
Aim: Affirmative Action
V.
What is
affirmative action?
A.
To deal with the
legacy of discrimination (racism, sexism), people belonging to those groups
deserve certain benefits and preferential treatment (equality of results)
B.
Opposition to
affirmative action
1.
Call it “reverse
discrimination”
2.
Believe that
affirmative action is not how to fix the problem
3.
It hurts the
people who get the benefits
4.
Believe in a colorblind
society
5.
Equality of
opportunity- don’t give minorities special benefits. People who are most qualified should get the
jobs and acceptances to colleges
VI.
Affirmative
Action cases (handout with brief description of cases)
A.
Bakke Case 1978
(Regents of the University of California v. Bakke)
1.
Got rid of
quotas in admissions
2.
Race can be a
determining factor in admitting a student (this helps everyone, not necessarily
black people because diversity on a campus helps everyone)
B.
University of
Michigan Cases
1.
Gratz v.
Bollinger (Undergraduate Program)
a)
Struck down on
the points system in the admissions process that gave minorities extra
points. The Court felt that this was too
close to a quota
2.
Grutter v.
Bollinger (Law School)
a)
Just considered
race- wanted to use this to overturn Bakke
b)
Court upheld the
idea of using race as a determining factor
VII.
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