HY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 54: Strict Scrutiny, Equal Protection Clause, Nancy Pelosi
6 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Civil Rights for Minorities and Women
African Americans are not the only group of people who have faced overt discrimination. In the
early years of the republic, Catholics and Jews were denied the right to vote in some states. The
Irish, Jews, and other immigrants faced a long period of de facto discrimination in housing,
educational opportunities, and employment. Nor does the civil rights struggle involve only racial
minorities, as the status of the disabled, homosexuals, and women demonstrates.
Hispanic Americans
As did African Americans, Hispanic Americans found that the best way to accomplish
their goals lay in organizing. The Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education
Fund, the United Farm Workers union, La Raza Unida, and the League of United Latin
American Citizens have campaigned for increased voter registration and greater access
to education. Hispanic Americans benefited directly from the 1975 amendments to the
Voting Rights Act that required that election materials be made available in minority
languages such as Spanish where justified by the number of minority voters.
Immigration reform is also a pressing issue, particularly the rights of illegal immigrants
and whether they will be able to become American citizens.
Native Americans
In the 1960s, Native Americans began organizing against long-standing neglect and
discrimination. There was an important emphasis on overcoming stereotypes about
Native Americans and recovering their heritage. The American Indian Movement
(AIM) has been one of the most effective voices seeking to preserve Native American
culture as well as raise the issues associated with land claims. Native Americans have
used civil disobedience — the takeover of Alcatraz Island in 1969 and the occupation of
Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973 — to press their claims.
Disabled Americans
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applied the requirements of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 to more than 40 million people. It covers those who are physically or
mentally handicapped, including people with AIDS and former drug or alcohol abusers,
and it guarantees protection in the areas of transportation, public accommodations,
employment, and telephone services. This expansion of civil rights has recently come
under fire because it often forces institutions to allocate disproportionate resources to a
handful of people. The presence of a single disabled student, for example, can force a
school to keep a full-time nurse on payroll or to make expensive changes in facilities
and equipment. The statutory definition of "disabled" is rather loose, and people using
the law for leverage sometimes do not seem to be what the sponsors had in mind when
they originally wrote the legislation. The disabled evoke great sympathy among the
general public, making elected officials unlikely to tamper with the rights that are now in
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
African americans are not the only group of people who have faced overt discrimination. In the early years of the republic, catholics and jews were denied the right to vote in some states. Irish, jews, and other immigrants faced a long period of de facto discrimination in housing, educational opportunities, and employment. Nor does the civil rights struggle involve only racial minorities, as the status of the disabled, homosexuals, and women demonstrates. As did african americans, hispanic americans found that the best way to accomplish their goals lay in organizing. Fund, the united farm workers union, la raza unida, and the league of united latin. American citizens have campaigned for increased voter registration and greater access to education. Hispanic americans benefited directly from the 1975 amendments to the. Voting rights act that required that election materials be made available in minority languages such as spanish where justified by the number of minority voters.
