Patterson ch05

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Chapter 5

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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 2007. Still substantial segregation

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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.

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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

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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

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Percent Democratic Identifiers
5-7

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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

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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)

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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

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Family Structure by Race and Ethnicity
5-17

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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”

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Percentage of Families Living in
Poverty, by Family Composition
5-19

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

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

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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

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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

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Opinions on Same-Sex Marriage
5-24

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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

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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