Civil rights & liberties Flashcards
What political means have been used to advance civil rights?
Constitutional amendments to ensure and protect constitutional rights e.g. the 24th amendment
legislation e.g. the voting rights act 1965
SC decisions e.g. obergefell v Hodges 2015 (right to same sex marriage)
citizen action e.g. BLM protests (2020)
What are constitutional rights?
Those individual rights provided and protected by the US constitution
What mainly protects civil liberties in the US
the Bill of rights
What is affirmative action?
A programme giving members of a previously disadvantaged minority group a head start in e.g. higher education or employment
In order to achieve affirmative action what is necessary?
Busing
Quota programmes
What is busing?
The mandated movement of school children between racially homogeneous neighbours e.g. black inner cities & white suburbs to create racially mixed schools
What are quota programmes?
A programme by which a certain percentage of places in, for example, higher education or employment is reserved for people from previously disadvantaged minorities
Affirmative action promotes equality of _________
results
What did the SC rule in parents involved v Seattle? school district (2007)
The SC ruled that it is unconstitutional to assign students to public schools solely for the purpose of achieving racial balance
What did the SC rule in Fisher v University of Texas? (2013)
The SC ruled that the university’s use of race in it’s admission policy must be subjected to stricter scrutiny because it involved possible discrimination against white students
What did the SC rule in Fisher v University of Texas? (2016)
The SC ruled that the university’s admission programme based on affirmative action was constitutional
What are the advantages of affirmative action?
- leads to greater levels of diversity i.e. those previously disadvantaged are now advantaged
- opens up areas of education and employment that otherwise would be out of reach to disadvantaged minorities
- in education it creates a more diverse student body promoting integration and racial tolerance
What are the disadvantages of affirmative action?
- Advantage for one group can lead to disadvantages for another group e.g. quotas
- Can lead to minorities being admitted to higher education courses and jobs for which they are ill equipped - just to increase diversity rather than on merit
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How was minority representation increased in congress?
- Hispanic/Latinx members up form 6 in 1979-80 to 38 in 2017-8
- in 2021 124 congress members identified as either black or hispanic, making a record 23% of congressional membership
How has minority representation increased in presidential candidates?
- Obama won the democratic nomination and the presidency (2008)
- six minority ethnic candidates ran for the democratic nomination in 2020 e.g. Kamala Harris
- Kamala Harris became the first female vice president in 2021
