Empowering Civil Rights: A Civic Engagement Proposal. Introduction: The essence of democracy lies not only in the rights enshrined within the Constitution, but also in the active engagement of citizens in shaping and safeguarding these rights. In this essay, I will delve into two significant political issues: civil rights and minorities. By examining these issues through the Constitution and proposing civic actions, I’m hopeful to showcase the transformative power of civic engagement in addressing contemporary challenges. Civil rights are not just a legal framework, but a fundamental right of American democracy, deeply rooted in the principles outlined in the Constitution. From its inception, the United States has grappled with the ideals of equality and justice for all citizens. While the Constitution wasn't initially inclusive, amendments and judicial interpretations have expanded its reach, making strides toward a more equitable society. …show more content…
These legislative milestones aimed to dismantle institutionalized discrimination and ensure equal access to opportunities, regardless of race, ethnicity, or other characteristics. However, despite legal advancements, disparities persist, particularly among marginalized communities. Racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities continue to face systemic barriers that hinder their full participation in society. Whether it's discriminatory practices in employment, housing, or education, the legacy of inequality casts a long shadow. The Constitution, with its principles of liberty and justice, stands as a beacon of hope, offering avenues for atonement and
Over the past 15 years tremendous awareness has been raised around this and programs of preferential treatment emerged. These programs ensured equal rights for people of color and females in the work place, allowing for them to apply for executive level positions and earn the same amount of money, benefits, and prestige as a white male ensuring equality for all race and sex. Lisa Newton argues that, “reverse discrimination does not advance but actually undermines equality because it violates the concept of equal justice under law for all citizens. In addition, to this theoretical objection to reverse discrimination, Newton opposes it because she believes it raises insoluble problems.” Among them are determining what groups have been sufficiently discriminated against in the past to deserve preferred treatment in the present and determining the degree of reverse discrimination that will be compensatory. Newton outlines the importance of ensuring her argument is recognized as logically distinct from the condition of justice in the political sense. She begins her argument for reverse discrimination as unjustified by addressing the “simple justice” claim requiring that we favor women and blacks in employment and education opportunities. Since women and blacks were unjustly excluded from such opportunities for so many years in the not so distant past, however when employers and schools favor women and blacks, the same injustice is done. This reverse discrimination violates the public equality which defines citizenship and destroys the rule of law for the areas in which these favors are granted. To the extent that we adopt a program of discrimination, reverse or otherwise, justice in the political sense is destroyed, and none of us, specifically affected or no is a citizen, as bearers of rights we are all petitioners
Discrimination is still a chronic global issue, and drastic inequalities still exist at the present time. Thus, the Affirmative Action Law is an important tool to many minorities most especially to women, and people of color, for the reason that this program provides an equality on educational, and professional opportunities for every qualified individual living in the United States. Without this program, a higher education would have been impossible for a “minority students” to attain. Additionally, without the Affirmative Action, a fair opportunity to have a higher-level career...
Civil Rights are the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was a main contributor to the development of civil rights. The NAACP is a civil rights organization for ethnic minorities in the United States. This group was in response to cruel discrimination to African Americans and fought to earn civil rights. Civil Rights are rights that were founded from the 13th and 14th amendments of the U.S. constitution. When these rights are present they usually correspond to a minority or ethnic group rather than a whole nation of people. In this case, the minority group allocated is the African-Americans. The NAACP was a founding campaign to stress the importance of equal rights to mainly african americans due to hardship, repression, and ancestral abuse from the birth of this nation, America.
Assignment One As American citizens we have rights that are protected by the Constitution, but we also have the right to be free. Civil liberties and civil rights sound very similar but effect us in different ways. Civil rights are the right we have to be free and more specifically free from discrimination based on our race, gender or disability while civil liberties are the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution and the Bill of Rights (Civil Liberties). Both mean something different but both are equally important to the function of our society.
Both Civil liberties and rights are not nor represent the same thing. Civil liberties are personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law or by judicial interpretation. Civil rights are the rights of individuals to receive equal treatment in a number of settings including education, employment, housing, and more. Many interests groups use these terms to support their own campains so that politicians might notice something being violated in the constitution.
Civil rights are the rights to personal liberty and are provided by the law. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights promises everybody civil rights. But many people, including lots of black people, have been denied their civil rights. Black people, and also some white people who help them, have struggled for these rights for a long time. Many people have helped and many kinds of groups have been formed to help win equal rights for everyone. Things are a lot better used to be, but the struggle is not over.
Declared in the U.S. Constitution every American or should it be person, is guaranteed civil rights. Civil rights did not just consist of “freedom of speech and assembly,” but as well as “the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law, and procedural guarantees in criminal and civil rights,” (Dawood). It was not until 1791, that the Bill of Rights was appended to the constitution, which helped clarify these rights to citizens. “Rights were eventually applied against actions of the state governments in a series of cases decide by the Supreme Court,” Dawood stated. In previous years (1790-1803), the Supreme Court had little say in decisions being made by government. As time went on the Supreme Court took on more responsibility and started making additional decisions, which in time helped minorities gain their civil rights. It took a couple of years, as a matter of fact till the 1900’s for the Supreme Court to get out of the “ideology of white supremacy and the practice of racism,” (Smith). Though the decisions of the Supreme Court were not all that appreciated in the beginning, following the 20th century the court really facilitated in the advancements of civil rights.
Civil liberties and civil rights are some of the most controversial issues within today’s society and government. The debates upon these liberties and rights are paramount. Topics such as the infringement of government upon these rights, through laws and such, and even the infringement of society upon them, through the sentiments of equality that the people hold, seem to take center stage whenever they are discussed. This controversy stems from the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and its ambiguity upon the fourteenth amendment and how it should apply and grow with society. In my opinion, I feel that civil liberties and civil rights are crucial to our country as a whole, but to address them here, in their entirety, would be impossible and overall useless. Still, if I were in government and amending or interpreting the Constitution, while also keeping the changes I’d like to make to the Constitution in mind from my last essay, I would like to identify freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the pursuit of happiness to be the most fundamental civil liberties and civil rights mentioned, and I would like to reiterate or add this to my constitution.
Civil rights concern the basic right to be free from unequal treatment based on certain protected characteristics (race, gender, disability, etc.) in settings such as employment, education, housing, and access to public facilities. A civil rights violation occurs in designated situations where an individual is discriminated against on the basis of a protected characteristic. Most civil rights laws are established through the federal government via federal legislation or case law. On the other hand, Civil liberties concern basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed -- either explicitly identified in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, or interpreted or inferred through the years by legislatures or the courts. (FindLaw)
Civil Rights has played an enormous role in America today. It provides political, social, and educational freedom. Civil Rights gives all people the right to live freely. The Civil Rights movement began in the 1950’s to ensure all people were treated equally, despite their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Although Abraham Lincoln ended slavery on January 1, 1863, African-Americans still had far to go in order to be treated equal. The Act of 1964 changed the country forever. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has made America one of the most culturally diverse in the world. The Act of 1964 gave African-Americans a chance at being equal with whites.
...discussion and as Baynton argues, the concept of disability plays a key role in justifying inequality in treatment. This has been shown throughout American history as reflected in the discriminatory practices that has denied women of suffrage, deprived African Americans of freedom and civil rights and prohibited immigrants from entry to the Land of Milk and Honey. Disabilities emanating from race and gender that had since been proven to be untrue or socially construed constitute a case of discrimination. Meanwhile, disabilities in lieu of diversity justify issues of exclusion or differences in treatment in order to accommodate the specific special needs of people with true disabilities.
Civil rights are giving people equal rights no matter their race, religion, sexuality, or gender. However, civil rights were not granted to African Americans in the 1950's and 60's. Even though voting rights of African Americans were protected with the 13th Amendment, ended slavery, the 14th Amendment, giving African Americans citizenship, and the 15th Amendment, gave African Americans the right to vote. State governments still found ways to pass laws that disenfranchise the rights of blacks, known as Jim Crow laws. No matter what beginnings African Americans had with civil rights, with the help of protests and reactions, the effects of the Civil Rights Movement left a Major impact in America.
Activities and philosophies that advocate for the connecting of communities with socially sentient beliefs and actions is what have come to be referred to as civic engagement. They are thus individual or collective actions aimed at addressing issues that are deemed to be of public concern. They can be manifested in many ways including; public service, civil activity, service-learning, crusading and advocacy to mention but a few as the list is endless.
Every day in America, a woman loses a job to a man, a homosexual high school student suffers from harassment, and someone with a physical or mental disability is looked down upon. People with disabilities make up the world’s largest and most disadvantaged minority, with about 56.7 million people living with disabilities in the United States today (Barlow). In every region of the country, people with disabilities often live on the margins of society, deprived of some of life’s fundamental experiences. They have little hope of inclusion within education, getting a job, or having their own home (Cox). Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed in life, but discrimination is limiting opportunities and treating people badly because of their disability.
Civil rights include the ensuring of peoples' physical and mental integrity, life and safety; protection from discrimination on grounds such as race, gender, national origin, colour, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or disability; and individual rights such as privacy, the freedoms of thought and conscience, speech and expression, religion, the press, assembly and movement.