Civil Rights Flashcards
(19 cards)
define civil rights
Protections introduced by the government to ensure that groups of citizens are not discriminated against
Define civil rights movement
The historic campaign for equal rights for African-Americans. Originated in late 19th century but was at it’s height in the 1950s and 60s where new federal laws were passed to ban discrimination
difference between civil liberties and civil rights
CL - fundamental individual freedoms e.g. speech
CR - protections that ensure people are not being discriminated against
define inalienable rights
Rights that cannot be taken away
give 3 examples of amendments to the constitution that extended civil rights
13th amendment (1865) abolished slavery
15th amendment (1870) gave all men of all races the righ to vote , including former slaves
19th amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote on the same terms as men
describe the unratified ERA
controversial civil rights amendements that was never ratified - would have made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sex
led by campaign of NOW
passes congress in 1972 and ratified in 35 states but did not secure enough senate votes
New campaign led to nevada ratifacation in 2017
has achieved 38 state ratifacations but republican held senate needs to extend deadline which is unlnikely
2020 3/4 of americans backed the amendment
Define landmark ruling
A judgment by the supreme court that establishes a new legal principle or fundamentally changes the way in which the constitution is interpreted. Effectively changing the meaning of federal law
Give 2examples of civil rights being protected by acts of congress
Civil Rights act 1957
and Voting Rights act 1965
What supreme court case protected the rights of students to not be seggregated by race
Brown V Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
What supreme court case protected the right to an abortion in the first 2 trimesters of preganancy
1973 Roe V Wade
what supreme court case protects the rights of same-sex couples to marry
2015 Obergefell V Hodges
Explain the American Civil Liberties Union
most significant defender of individual civil liberties with momre than 1.5 million members and staff of over 300 lawyers with affiliates in every state and the most involved in supreme court cases than anoy other non-governmental organisation
ACLU defends civil liberties of ALL americans even white supremecist groups such as American Nazi’s
How did the ACLU effect trumps 2017 travel ban
it challenged it which led to a federal court blcoking the ban which was then modified to be deems as constitutional
Explain the National Association for the advancement of Coloured People
NAACP
founded in 1909 - oldest civil rights pressure group and still has over half a million members today!
lobbied congress to pas civil rights act 1957
special councel lawyer Thurgood Marshall won a series of victories including brown v board
What is the NAACP like in the twenty-first century
still focused on ensuring African-Americans achieve equal rights
in May 2020 it launched the social movement #wearedonedying to campaign against institutional racism
2020 election it ran a national voter mobalisation programme that contributed to the record levels of black voter turnout
define affirmative action
positive discrimination to favour racial minorities by employers or universities or federal or state governments
Give an example of African -American turnout increasing sue to the voting rights act 1965
7% in 1964
67% in 1969
Give a stat to show the incarceration rates of african americans
2018 - 12% of the adult population but 33% of prison population
Define Felony disenfranchisement
The loss of the right to vote by people who have been convicted of a felony, may be temporary or permanent and may vary from state to state
