STATION ONE: What are “civil rights”



STATION ONE: What are “civil rights”?

Civil rights are “the rights of citizenship”. Basically, this means that because we are Americans we are guaranteed certain privileges. Our civil rights and the laws that protect them can be found in many places, but the Constitution is a good place to start. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are more commonly referred to as The Bill of Rights. These amendments go to great lengths to discuss what each and every citizen of the U.S has the right to expect (and not expect) from the government. The 14th Amendment also guarantees citizens certain rights.

In laymen’s terms, the 14th Amendment says the following:

*All citizens (natural born or naturalized) are protected from laws or practices that deprive them of the privileges of citizenship

*Citizens cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness

*All male citizens over the age of 21 have the right to vote

*A person who was involved in an insurrection or rebellion against the government is not allowed to hold political office unless Congress specifically votes to allow them. (Remember: this Amendment was written after the Civil War)

*Congress has the right to make laws enforcing these statements

This amendment was/is important because it guaranteed that states, counties, and local governments (and not just the federal government) had to apply The Bill of Rights to all people. Civil rights cannot be taken away, but they can be lost, modified, or delayed. For example, convicted felons will often lose their right to vote for a period of time. Your rights are only guaranteed if they do not impede or obstruct on someone else’s rights. For example, although I have freedom of speech, I cannot yell “Fire!” in the middle of a crowded movie theatre. Citizens do not obtain full use of their civil rights until they reach the legal age of maturity, which today is 18 years of age. Also, in places like prisons, schools, and other public institutions, certain freedoms are not always absolute.

STATION TWO: The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the Constitution) puts limits on the government and protects the rights of all citizens. Here is what each of the Amendments means for you:

First Amendment: Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and petition

Second Amendment: The right to bear arms

Third Amendment: Soldiers cannot live in your home without your permission

Fourth Amendment: No unreasonable search or seizure of private property

Fifth Amendment: Can’t be tried for the same crime twice, do not have to incriminate yourself on the witness stand (“I plead the fifth”), private property cannot be taken from you by the government without just compensation

Sixth Amendment: Speedy and pubic trial

Seventh Amendment: Trial by jury in both criminal cases and civil cases over a certain dollar amount

Eighth Amendment: No excessive bail, no cruel and unusual punishment

Ninth Amendment: If a right is not listed in the Constitution, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist (This was meant to be a catch-all. The writers realized that they may not have thought of every right it that would be necessary to protect over the entire course of the United State’s existence and they wanted to make sure that a government could not take advantage of that fact)

Tenth Amendment: If the Constitution does not explicitly give a power to the federal government, it belongs to the state

STATION THREE: The Right to Vote

Although one of the least used civil rights, the right to vote is one of our most important and valuable rights. It gives a chance to have a voice. It allows us to pick the people that will represent us at a state, federal, and world-wide level. This ensures that politicians look out for the people they represent, because they will lose their job if they don’t. In a typical presidential election, only about 50% of eligible voters actually make it to the polls. This is the second lowest among all democratic nations. There are several different arguments about why this is the case: (1) People don’t care: (2) People are lazy; (3) Polls aren’t open long enough; (4) If people are happy with the way things are going, they won’t feel the need to vote; (5) People are intimidated by the voting process; (6) Voting is boring.

The right to vote has not always been available to all people. For a long time it was based on gender, race, wealth, and status. In the early days of our nation, only white men who were over 21 and owned land were allowed to vote. Even after black men and women were granted the right to vote, voting precincts would often charge a fee, known as a poll tax, to discourage or make it impossible for “undesirables” to vote. Here are the amendments that changed all that:

Fifteenth Amendment: The right of citizens to vote cannot be denied based on race, color, or previously being a slave/servant

Nineteenth Amendment: Women granted the right to vote

24th Amendment: Illegal and unconstitutional to charge a poll tax or any type of fee in order to vote

26th Amendment: Made the legal voting age 18. This amended was passed during the Vietnam War. It was changed primarily because it was felt if a person was old enough to fight for their country, they should have the right to say who is running their country.

STATION FOUR: Miranda Rights

I hope you are never arrested. However, if you are, you will hear the familiar words that we have all heard on TV many times over: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you.” This little speech is referred to as your “Miranda Rights”. These rights, although very familiar to us now (thanks in large part to Law and Order, CSI, and the likes) were not always taken advantage of by suspected criminals. Believe it or not, most people do not know all of their rights by heart. Sometimes, police officers and government officials would take advantage of this fact and attempt to question suspects without a lawyer present because they thought they would be more likely to get a confession this way. If you are under arrest, you do NOT have to answer a police officers question simply because they ask you. You have the right to a lawyer, who is meant to protect you, ensure that police are not using intimidation, pressure, or force to get a confession, and keep you from doing anything that would harm you in a trial. However, if you are pulled over on the street or stopped by an officer and are NOT put under arrest or being detained as a suspect, it is a good idea to answer questions honestly and respectfully. (

Today, it is required that before questioning begins, a suspect must be Mirandized (or read his or her rights). This was not always the case. Before 1966, police and courts operated under the assumption that all people know their rights and they do not have to be reminded of them. In 1963, Ernesto Miranda was accused of killing an 18 year old girl. He was questioned by police, not notified of his right to have an attorney present, and ended up confessing to the crime. At trial, Miranda's lawyer tried to get the confession thrown out, but the motion was denied. In 1966, the case came in front of the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the statements made to the police could not be used as evidence, since Miranda had not been advised of his rights.

Thankfully, Miranda had a good attorney. That is due in large part to the case Gideon v. Wainwright, which is another case the Supreme Court ruled on. This case was decided in 1963. Prior to this year, a person only was guaranteed an attorney for a case involving the death penalty. Gideon overturned this precedent and made it so that all criminal suspects, regardless of the potential penalty for their alleged crime, had the right to an attorney if they could not afford one.

STATION FIVE: Rights for Women

The right to vote was not the one only struggle that women have had in guaranteeing their constitutional rights. For many years, and even still today, women were forced to struggle with sexism in the workplace, in the home, and in the public eye. There are typically two different viewpoints on what it means to be “equal” to men. The first is that women should be legally viewed exactly the same as men. In short, whatever men have or get or are granted, women should be allowed the exact same. The second view is that women are different from men, and thus should be treated differently. For example, men cannot get pregnant, so although men are not given maternatity leave, that does not mean that women should not be granted that right. This view is essentially saying that fair treatment does not mean equal treatment.

With the exception of womens’ suffrage, the push for womens’ rights kicked into high gear in the 1970s. This was the beginning of the feminist movement in America. The Women’s Movement is typically viewed as a series of movements to ensure reproductive rights (including the right to an abortion), equal treatment on the job, maternity leave, and protection against sexual harassment and domestic violence. Most of these issues have been resolved in federal legislation, but a few have been brought all the way to the Supreme Court.

*Reed v. Reed: The Court ruled that men and women can only be treated differently by the law when there is a reasonable and relavent cause for doing so.

*Pittsburgh Press v. Pittsburgh Commission: The Court ruled that it is illegal for an employer to indicate a gender requirement in job postings

*Roe v. Wade: The Court struck down laws that restricted abortions. A woman’s right to privacy was extended to include her right to terminate her pregnancy. It stated that in the first and second trimester of a pregnancy, a state can only regulate abortions to ensure maternal health. However, in the third trimester, a state can choose to outlaw abortions except when “in appropriate medical judgement” one is necessary to save the mother’s life.

STATION SIX: The Right to Privacy

Nowhere in the Constitution does it say a person has a right to privacy. However, the 9th amendment says that even if a right isn’t spelled out in the document, that doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t exist and many judges have used this amendment to justify the right to privacy. The 14th Amendment also says people have the right to liberty. Many people have extended this to mean a right of privacy when it comes to medical treatments, raising children, choosing whether or not to have children, marriage, etc. Many experts also say that the writers of the Constitution did not put the right to privacy in words because they already gave us so much privacy in the Bill of Rights.

*First Amendment gives us privacy of thought (to choose our religion and our speech)

*Third Amendment gives us privacy of our homes (no soliders allowed)

*Fourth Amendment gives us privacy of our belongings (no search or seizures)

From these instances of guaranteed privacies, some people believe that a general right to privacy is obviously implied by the Constitution. The federal government has tended to agree. No one but your doctor is allowed access to your medical information. The government cannot control what a person does, says, reads, or googles inside of their home (unless it breaks a criminal law). It is not OK for a person to videotape or audio record another person while they are in a dressing room or a restroom.

The right to privacy is sometimes limited. In the workplace, in schools, in public places, in prisons, privacy is restricted in order to ensure the common good. In short, a civil right can be limited in order to ensure that everyone is safe, productive, and healthy. So while you may think it is wrong or “illegal” for schools to read text messages or search lockers, they have the right to do so in order to make sure the school is safe.

STATION SEVEN: The Civil Rights Act of 1964

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy sent his version of The Civil Rights Act to Congress. Originally, the act was meant to end race-based segregation in schools and public places. This made the act quite unpopular with Southern politicians. It was also unpopular with African Americans who felt it didn’t go far enough to put them on equal ground with the White population. When Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963, his Vice President (and new President of United States) used the shock and memory of his murder to get the legislation passed. However, before it was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, numerous changes were made to it in order to protect women, white people, and create the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Although the act was unpopular at the time with many groups of people, it is now looked upon as a ground-breaking, important piece of legislation and one of President Johnson’s greatest achievements.

There are several different sections to the act…here’s are some highlights:

Title I: Voter registration requirements must be applied equally and not based on race or status

Title III: Cannot deny access to pulic facilities based on race, religion, or ethnicity

Title VI: Encouraged the desegregation of public schools & gave the Attorney General the right to do so

Title VII: This was the most important section of the act. This part of the act prohibits discrimination by employers on the basis of race, color, pregnancy, religion, sex or national origin. It also created the EEOC to monitor and oversee the implimentation of this law. The EEOC enforces laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age in hiring, promoting, firing, payment, testing, etc.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also protects against retaliation against a person on the jobsite, decisions based on stereotypes, or decisions based on a persons marriage to or association with a different race, religion, etc. The Act is far-reaching and very well written. While originally it wasn’t very powerful, it has since been made stronger by new laws and practices.

STATION EIGHT: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – taken from

The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in federal, state, and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and any business with more than 15 employees. To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or have a relationship with an individual with a disability. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is in charge of enforcing the ADA.

Title I: Restricts the type of questions that can be asked about a disability prior to hiring. It also does not allow employers to discriminate based on the disability

Title II: Requires that the government gives people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from programs and services like voting, town meetings, courts, public transportation, etc.

Title III: Applies the ADA to restaurants, stores, hotels, theaters, schools, doctors' offices, zoos, funeral homes, day care centers, and recreation facilities including stadiums and fitness clubs.

Title IV: addresses telephone and television access for people with hearing and speech disabilities

The ADA also requires that public schools to make accommodations and modifications available to all children with disabilities so they can receive a free education that is up to the same standards as students without disabilities.

STATION NINE: Sexual Orientation

There is no federal legislation that protects people from being discriminated against based on their sexual preference….yet. Many states have begun addressing the need to protect homosexuals, bisexuals, transgendered individuals, and other alternative lifestyles from being discriminated against. As of today, thirteen states and Washington, D.C. have already passed laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Currently, there is a bill making its way through Congress. It is called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA for short. It is worded very, very, similarly to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ENDA would make it illegal for an employer to discriminate in hiring, firing, promoting, etc. based on perceived or actual sexual orientation. It is being applauded as a great step in the right direction, but it does not mention transgendered individuals. It also excludes religious, veteran, and military businesses from the act. The authors of the bill defend these perceived problems by saying that if it was more strongly worded that it would not pass through both the House and the Senate.

A similar act was introduced to Congress in 2001, but did not get passed by the Senate. However, with hate crimes against people living “alternative lifestyles” rapidly rising around the nation, it is suspected that ENDA, in one form or another, will be passed in the near future. Coca-Cola, Microsoft, General Mills, and Hewlett-Packard have already supported ENDA as a way to protect the integrity and diversity of the workplace.

Although there is no federal law against discriminating based on sexual orientation or lifestyle, that does not mean that discrimination is allowed or can’t be prevented/stopped. A number of clever lawyers have found ways to file “gender-bias” lawsuits using the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as their guide. They claim that expecting or requiring certain hairstyles, clothing types, mannerisms, actions, or thoughts from either men or women is stereotypical and therefore unconstitutional.

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