POL S 202: Intro to American Politics

“Civil Rights”

Week 3: April 15, 2010

American Politics in the News…Interesting News Stories:

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The Patriot ActOverview: updated surveillance laws and expanded

powers of surveillance and law enforcement to track, monitor, search and detain suspects

• In order to expand surveillance power to track terrorists, all residents of America are affected

• Which is more important? National Security or Civil Liberties

• Should we curtail our rights to free speech and privacy to track and monitor potential suspects

The Patriot Act• Many groups and individuals that support civil

liberties and oppose government intervention want changes in the Patriot Act

• Section 215 authorizes investigators to obtain records deemed necessary to investigate terrorism such as library, bookstore, medical, education, travel records

• In September 2007, U.S. District Judge in Oregon ruled that secret searches and wiretaps violate the 4th Amendment ban on unreasonable searches

The Patriot Act• Dec 2009, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals finds that

there is no standing for 4th Amd claims

• Feb 2010, House and Senate extended key provisions of the USA Patriot Act for one year– Court approved roving wiretaps

– Court approved seizure of records and property

– Surveillance of noncitizen suspects

• Some groups such as ACLU continue to push for repeal and revision of large portions of the Patriot Act

Civil RightsCivil Rights: All rights rooted in the 14th

Amd’s guarantee of equal protection under the law

14th Amendment: No State shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

• Civil liberties are limitations on government to specify what government cannot do

• Civil rights are protections to specify what the government must do to ensure equality

Civil Rights and Slavery• Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857: Sup. Ct. held that

slaves were not citizens and had no rights• Civil War, 1861 – 1865• Emancipation Proclamation, 1863: “all persons

held as slaves within any State, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free”

• 13th Amendment, 1865: neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in the U.S.

• 14th Amendment, 1868: all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens and have equal rights under the law

• 15th Amendment, 1870: right of citizens to vote shall not be denied on account of race or color

Enforcing Civil Rights• Congress passed many civil rights acts

during 1860s and 1870s to prevent discrimination against African Americans

• Supreme Court overturned these acts, and allowed individuals to discriminate

• Civil Rights Cases, 1883: Sup. Ct. holds that 14th Amd does not apply to individual or private discrimination, only state government

• Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896: established the separate but equal doctrine, allowing for state sponsored segregation

Voting Barriers for Blacks

• Southern states established the “White Primary” in which only Whites could vote in the Dem. Primary

• Grandfather clause: had to prove your grandfather had voted before 1867

• Poll taxes: required the payment of a fee to vote• Literacy tests: asked potential voters to read, recite,

or interpret complicated texts to the satisfaction of the local registrar of voters

• Voter intimidation: even if a Black citizen could pass these requirements, he faced threats, harassment, and violence if he tried to vote

The End of Segregation• Numerous lawsuits challenged separate but equal

doctrine in 1930s, 40s, and 50s.• 1950, Sup. Ct. ruled that state universities could not

assign Black students to separate classrooms, libraries or cafeterias.

• 1954, Brown v. Board of Education: Sup. Ct. ruled that separate but equal was unconstitutional

• 1955, Brown 2: Sup. Ct. declared that lower courts need to implement Brown decision with “all deliberate speed” to desegregate the school system

• 1957, Governor of Arkansas refused to integrate Central High School, Pres. Eisenhower steps in

• 1962, University of Mississippi refuses to allow Black students, Pres. Kennedy steps in

The Civil Rights Movement• 1955, Rosa Parks refuses to sit in “colored” section

of bus, gets arrested; protests grow• 1956, African American leaders stage the

Montgomery Bus boycott, lead by MLK• 1960, Lunch counter sit-in, Greensboro, NC• 1963, Birmingham protest starts peaceful but ends

in violence when police commissioner uses dogs, cattle prods, fire hoses against Black protesters

• 1963, March on Washington, MLK delivers famous “I have a dream speech” to 250,000 supporters

Modern Civil Rights Legislation• Civil Rights Act of 1964

– Outlawed discrimination in voter registration– Barred discrimination in public accommodations– Authorized federal government to desegregate– Expanded power of civil rights commission– Withholding of federal funds in discrimination– Established the EEOC for employment

• Voting Rights Act of 1965– Outlawed discriminatory voter registration tests– Federal oversight of election laws (redistricting)

• Civil Rights Act of 1968 Housing discrim

Impact of the Voting Rights Act

March 1965 November 1988 8

State Black White Gap Black White Gap

Alabama 19.3 69.2 49.9 68.4 75.0 6.6

Georgia 27.4 62.6 35.2 56.8 63.9 7.1

Louisiana 31.6 80.5 48.9 77.7 75.1 -2.0

Mississippi 6.7 69.9 63.2 74.2 80.5 6.3

N. Carolina 46.8 96.8 50.0 58.2 65.6 7.4

S. Carolina 37.3 75.7 38.4 56.7 61.8 5.1

Virginia 38.3 61.1 22.8 63.8 68.5 4.7

Voter Registration rates by race – selected states

Racial Profiling in Missouri

• Due to numerous complaints, state law now requires law enforcement to report race of driver in traffic stops and searches

• 2008 Traffic Stop Data for Missouri:White Black Latino

% of state pop 83.8 10.8 2.3% of stops 79.2 17.1 2.2% of searches 70.2 25.2 3.8% of arrests 70.2 25.3 3.7Disparty ratio .837 2.34 1.61

Source: Executive Summary on 2008 Missouri vehicle stops, Table 1

Racial Profiling in Missouri• 2008 Traffic Stop Data for Missouri, continued:

White Black LatinoStop Rate 33.0 55.4 33.1Search Rate 7.9 11.6 14.1Contraband Rate 20.4 16.6 13.5Arrest Rate 5.0 8.4 9.9

“The continued disparity in stops and searches of these groups of drivers should be cause for ongoing review by law enforcement,”

- Statement made based on 2004 data

“Statistical disproportion does not prove that law enforcement officers are making vehicle stops based on the perceived race or ethnicity of the driver,”

- Statement made based on 2008 data

Source: Executive Summary on 2008 Missouri vehicle stops, Table 1

Search rate disparty in Missouri by race, 2004-08

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

White Latino Black

Sea

rch

rate

vs

% o

f po

pula

tion

2004

2008

Racial Profiling in Missouri

Source: Executive Summary on 2004 & 2008 Missouri vehicle stops, Table 1

For Friday Directed Study

(1) Complete short online study

(2) You will receive an email with a link/URL

(3) Must complete the study on Friday to get credit