William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

1 741 74 Chapter 5 | Civil Rights

Expanding Civil Rights for African Americans Other significant rulings in the

1960s struck down state laws that forbade interracial marriages (16 states had such

laws), upheld all significant parts of the Civil Rights Act, and upheld and expanded

the scope of the Voting Rights Act (VR A; these important laws will be discussed in

the next section). In central cases, the justices ruled that Congress had the power to

eliminate segregation in public places, such as restaurants and hotels, under the

commerce clause of the Constitution.

The first case involved a hotel in Atlanta that was close to an interstate highway,

advertised extensively on the highway, and had a clientele that was about 75 percent

from out of state. The Court ruled that this establishment was clearly engaging in

interstate commerce, so Congress had the right to regulate it.^64 In the second case,

“almost all, if not all,” of the patrons of Ollie’s Barbecue in Birmingham, Alabama,

were local. However, the Court pointed out that meat purchased for the restaurant

came from out of state and this constituted 46 percent of the total amount spent on

supplies. Therefore, the practice of segregation would place significant burdens on “the

interstate flow of food and upon the movement of products generally.”^65

The next important area of cases was in employment law. In 1971, the Court ruled

that employment tests, such as written exams or general aptitude tests, that are not

related to job performance and that discriminate against blacks violate the 1964 Civil

R ights Act.^66 This disparate impact standard of discrimination means that if the

employment practice has a bad effect on a racial group, it doesn’t matter whether or

not the discrimination is intended. The Supreme Court and Congress have gone back

and forth in defining this concept, but it is still important in workplace discrimination

suits. (See Nuts & Bolts 5.1 for the legal definition of race-based workplace

discrimination.)

The Color-Blind Court and Judicial Activism Recently, the Supreme Court has

been gradually imposing a “color-blind jurisprudence” over a range of issues—that is,

the Court has reasoned that race should not be considered in determining the outcome

of certain kinds of cases. One significant area was the 1992 racial redistricting in which

15 new U.S. House districts were drawn to help elect African Americans and 10 new

districts were drawn to help elect Latino members. The resulting dramatic change in

disparate impact standard

The idea that discrimination exists

if a practice has a negative effect on

a specific group, whether or not this

effect was intentional.

Busing students from one school

district to another has been

controversial since the 1960s. In

Boston in the 1970s, many black

students who were bused into white

districts needed police protection

against protests.

DID YOU KNOW?

75%

of African-American students and

79 percent of Latino students attend

schools that are majority minority.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

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