History of American Discrimination and Inequality -How did each of these further discrimination?
1-White primaries, Poll tax + Literacy tests + Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
All three of these lessened the ability of the minorities to become involved in political life as well as become integrated into everyday life equally.
2-Segregation + Jim Crow Laws + racial restrictive covenant
This furthers discrimination because all of these concepts deal with separating ethnic groups. When separation is involved it allows for one group to be called “superior” and another to be called “inferior”
Fighting inequality -How did each of these fight discrimination?
3-Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954)
This made school segregation unconstitutional.
4-Voting Rights Act of 1965 + minority-majority districts
Both of these allowed for a greater influence of black votes in that literacy test and things of that sort were done away with while minorities began to have a voice and representation was a must for the minorities since they have their own voting district.
5-Civil rights act of 1964 Title II and Title VII - US v. Heart of Atlanta Motel - Commerce Clause - EEOC -
These basically prevent the discrimination for jobs or public services based on ethnicity as well as gender, nationality, or religion.
6-Fair housing Act and Amendments 1968 and 1988
This prevents the discrimination of the sale or rental of real estate or dwellings based on gender, age, ethnicity, or any other profile an individual can be in.
7-Affirmative action + Class action suits + University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978) + Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
All of these fairly allowed the use of ethnic background to be established in order to create a diverse body of beliefs in individuals either at school or in the work place.
8-Title IX and the history of Title IX - 9-Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990)
These prevent the discrimination on gender and disabilities to become a factor when dealing with sporting events and normal everyday life such as hiring and job opportunities.
Current American Discrimination and Inequality
• If a Black man and a white man are charged with the same crime, & both have a clean record: the Black man is 9 times more likely to go to jail than the white man.
• If a Black man and a white man are charged with the same drug-crime, & both have a clean record: the Black man is 49 times more likely to go to jail than the white man.
• Sadly, discrimination in housing continues today.
• Because of continuing unequal pay for women, last year, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into Law
Your opinion
Think about all you have read and learned, think about where our country is currently in regards to discrimination and inequality, and explain whether you think the federal government has done enough, too much, or the right amount to fight US discrimination.
I feel that there isn’t much more the federal government can do to prevent and fight discrimination in the U.S. simply because there is no way for them to be able to control individual and personal bias. All that the government can do is make it harder and harder for those biases to come out and become a factor in everyday life.
1-White primaries, Poll tax + Literacy tests + Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
All three of these lessened the ability of the minorities to become involved in political life as well as become integrated into everyday life equally.
2-Segregation + Jim Crow Laws + racial restrictive covenant
This furthers discrimination because all of these concepts deal with separating ethnic groups. When separation is involved it allows for one group to be called “superior” and another to be called “inferior”
Fighting inequality -How did each of these fight discrimination?
3-Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954)
This made school segregation unconstitutional.
4-Voting Rights Act of 1965 + minority-majority districts
Both of these allowed for a greater influence of black votes in that literacy test and things of that sort were done away with while minorities began to have a voice and representation was a must for the minorities since they have their own voting district.
5-Civil rights act of 1964 Title II and Title VII - US v. Heart of Atlanta Motel - Commerce Clause - EEOC -
These basically prevent the discrimination for jobs or public services based on ethnicity as well as gender, nationality, or religion.
6-Fair housing Act and Amendments 1968 and 1988
This prevents the discrimination of the sale or rental of real estate or dwellings based on gender, age, ethnicity, or any other profile an individual can be in.
7-Affirmative action + Class action suits + University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978) + Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
All of these fairly allowed the use of ethnic background to be established in order to create a diverse body of beliefs in individuals either at school or in the work place.
8-Title IX and the history of Title IX - 9-Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990)
These prevent the discrimination on gender and disabilities to become a factor when dealing with sporting events and normal everyday life such as hiring and job opportunities.
Current American Discrimination and Inequality
• If a Black man and a white man are charged with the same crime, & both have a clean record: the Black man is 9 times more likely to go to jail than the white man.
• If a Black man and a white man are charged with the same drug-crime, & both have a clean record: the Black man is 49 times more likely to go to jail than the white man.
• Sadly, discrimination in housing continues today.
• Because of continuing unequal pay for women, last year, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into Law
Your opinion
Think about all you have read and learned, think about where our country is currently in regards to discrimination and inequality, and explain whether you think the federal government has done enough, too much, or the right amount to fight US discrimination.
I feel that there isn’t much more the federal government can do to prevent and fight discrimination in the U.S. simply because there is no way for them to be able to control individual and personal bias. All that the government can do is make it harder and harder for those biases to come out and become a factor in everyday life.