civil rights

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Overview

A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury. 

Discrimination occurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of the individual's membership in a particular group or class. Various jurisdictions have enacted statutes to prevent discrimination based on a person's race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin, and in some instances sexual orientation.

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

People often confuse civil rights and civil liberties. Civil rights refer to legal provisions that stem from notions of equality. Civil rights are not in the Bill of Rights; they deal with legal protections. For example, the right to vote is a civil right. A civil liberty, on the other hand, refers to personal freedoms protected from government intrusion such as those listed in the Bill of Rights. For example, the First Amendment's right to free speech is a civil liberty.

Reconstruction Era

The Reconstruction Era was the monumental period in U.S. civil rights following the Civil War in which the federal government attempted to pass laws aimed at helping victims of slavery, primarily African-Americans. 

Reconstruction Amendments

The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution constituted the largest expansion of civil rights in the history of the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment outlawed involuntary servitude. The Fourteenth Amendment made it illegal for a state to pass laws "which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the citizens of the United States... [or] deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, [or] deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the U.S. or any state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that person's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." These Amendments are called the Reconstruction Amendments because they were passed during the Reconstruction Era. 

Some Reconstruction Laws

During the Reconstruction Era, Congress enacted numerous civil rights statutes. Many of these are still in force today and protect individuals from discrimination and from the deprivation of their civil rights. Section 1981 of Title 42 (Equal Rights Under the Law) protects individuals from discrimination based on race in making and enforcing contracts, participating in lawsuits, and giving evidence. See 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Other statutes, derived from acts of the reconstruction era, that protect against discrimination include: Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights (See 42 U.S.C. § 1983); Conspiracies to Interfere With Civil Rights (See 42 U.S.C. § 1985); Conspiracy Against Rights of Citizens (See 18 U.S.C. § 241); Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, (See 18 U.S.C. § 242); The Jurisdictional Statue for Civil Rights Cases (See 28 U.S.C. § 1443); and Peonage Abolished (See 42 U.S.C. § 1994).

Civil Rights Act of 1964 

The most prominent civil rights legislation since Reconstruction is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Congress, using its power to regulate interstate commerce, enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 under Title 42, Chapter 21 of the United States Code. Discrimination based on "race, color, religion, or national origin" in public establishments that have a connection to interstate commerce or are supported by the state is prohibited. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000a. Public establishments include places of public accommodation (e.g., hotels, motels, and trailer parks), restaurants, gas stations, bars, taverns, and places of entertainment in general. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation also declared a strong legislative policy against discrimination in public schools and colleges which aided in desegregation. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination where the employer is engaged in interstate commerce. Congress has passed numerous other laws dealing with employment discrimination. 

The judiciary, most notably the Supreme Court, plays a crucial role in interpreting the extent of civil rights, as a single Supreme Court ruling can alter the recognition of a right throughout the nation. The federal courts have been crucial in mandating and supervising school desegregation programs and other programs established to rectify state or local discrimination.

Twenty-Fourth Amendment 

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1964, banned poll taxes. A poll tax is a tax imposed on anybody who votes at a polling place. Poll taxes discouraged poorer citizens from voting, disproportionately affecting minorities. As such, poll taxes interfere with the civil right of voting.

Voting Rights Act of 1965 

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is codified in 52 U.S. Code § 10101. The act states: "All citizens of the United States who are otherwise qualified by law to vote at any election by the people . . . shall be entitled and allowed to vote at all such elections, without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Civil Rights Act of 1968 

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is also known as the Fair Housing Act. This Act protects against numerous sorts of housing discrimination, including rentals, sales, real estate transactions, and brokerage services. The Act "prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of dwellings based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin." Congress also created housing discrimination protections for individuals with disabilities through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. These Acts, in essence, expanded upon the scope of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Congress also expanded housing protection to the elderly in the Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995.

State Civil Rights Efforts 

In addition to federal guarantees, some states provide further protection of civil rights. New York's New York State Human Rights Law is one such example.

Numerous international agreements and declarations recognize human rights.  The United States has signed some of these agreements, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Disenfranchisement 

Disenfranchisement refers to the removal of civil rights, primarily the right to vote. States are able to place certain restrictions on who can vote, including restrictions based upon someone's criminal record.

The Supreme Court affirmed in Richardson v. Ramirez, 418 U.S. 24 (1974) that under Section Two, states can prohibit convicted felons from voting after serving their prison sentence.

Vermont and Maine do not practice felon disenfranchisement; Virginia and Kentucky do not allow felons to vote; and the other 46 states have some sort of criminal disenfranchisement law. For more information, see this ACLU article on felony disenfranchisement. 

As an example, Florida has its felon disenfranchisement law included in its state Constitution. As such, in order to change the policy, the state would need to pass a state constitutional amendment. 

Further Reading 

For more on the Voting Rights Act, see this Columbia Law Review article

For more on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, see these articles from a Boston University Law Review Symposium.

For more on the Civil Rights Act of 1968, see this Villanova Law Review article.

Federal Material

U.S. Constitution and Federal Statutes
Federal Agency Regulations
Federal Judicial Decisions

State Material

State Statutes
State Judicial Decisions

International Material

Conventions and Treaties

Key Internet Sources

Additional Topics

[Last updated in October of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]