Chapter_5_Outline

Civil Rights

Protections from discrimination by the government and individuals, rooted in the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Equal Protection Clause

A provision in the Fourteenth Amendment that requires states to provide equal protection under the law to all persons.

Intersectionality

The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual, creating overlapping systems of discrimination.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enacted in the Southern United States that enforced racial segregation.

Plessy v. Ferguson

The 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Brown v. Board of Education

The 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for Black and white students unconstitutional.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation aimed at eliminating barriers to voting for African Americans and strengthening federal oversight of voter registration in the South.

Affirmative Action

Policies that take factors including race, color, religion, sex, or national origin into account in order to benefit an underrepresented group.

Color-Blind Jurisprudence

A legal perspective that race should not be considered in legal decisions.

Civil Liberties

Basic freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and assembly.

Nonviolent Protests

A method of activism that seeks to achieve social change through peaceful means, typically involving civil disobedience.

LGBTQIA+ community

A diverse group of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and others.

Disparate Impact Standard

A legal standard that focuses on the effects of a practice rather than the intent behind it in discrimination cases.

Title VII

A section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Statutory Law

Laws enacted by a legislative body, as opposed to common law established by court judgments.

Sovereign Nations

Groups that fulfill the criteria of nationhood, usually with limited self-governance recognized by broader states or countries.

Hate Crimes

Crimes motivated by bias against a particular group, such as racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual orientation.

Grandfather Clause

A legal provision that allowed individuals to bypass certain laws if their ancestors had qualified under earlier laws.

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

An organization formed to coordinate civil rights sit-ins and other forms of nonviolent protest during the Civil Rights Movement.

Violence Against Women Act

A federal law that provides resources and legal protections for victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse.

De Facto Segregation

Racial segregation that occurs without any legal requirement, often due to social, economic, or housing patterns.

Rational Basis Test

A standard of judicial review used to evaluate laws that classify individuals, requiring a legitimate government interest.

Obergefell v. Hodges

The landmark 2015 Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states.