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Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Practice Quiz
Critical Thinking and Learning Exercises
- 1. Review the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder (http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=673836962919694359&q=shelby+county+v.+holder+opinion+&hl=en&as_sdt=2,25&as_vis=1). What does Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act require? How does this decision impact the Voting Rights Act, specifically Section 5?
- 2. Review the Voting Rights Act of 1965: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=100&page=transcript. What groups are protected under the Voting Rights Act? Why was the Voting Rights Act necessary? Identify the sections and/or amendments that mention the group that you have identified as being a protected group.
- 3. Use the following website, https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/selectatest.html, to test your subconscious biases toward various groups. Choose two Implicit Association Tests to take. What were your results? Are you surprised by these results? Why are biases important as they relate to civil rights? What are some of the indicators that impact biases?
- 4. The Supreme Court ruled in Shelby County v. Holder that the formula in Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is outdated and that congress will need to create a new formula to implement the pre-clearance clause in Section 5. http://www.aclu.org/maps/battle-protect-ballot-voter-suppression-measures-passed-2011
- 5. Research the concept of the glass ceiling as it relates to women. Compare the salaries between men and women. Now, compare the salaries between males and females by race. Which group is first and which group is last? Why do you think that each group is located where they are in the rankings?
- 6. Visit the following link, http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2013/06/28/voting_rights_and_the_supreme_court_the_impossible_literacy_test_louisiana.html, and follow the instructions for completing the literacy test administered in Louisiana prior to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Links to further Resources
Constitution USA with Peter Sagal: Equality
http://www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-sagal/equality/#.UbjjGPm1FqU
Peter Sagal of PBS explores important civil rights issues and their relationship to the core principle of equality.
Civil Rights Resource Guide of the Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/civilrights/external.html
The Library of Congress has compiled this lengthy collection of links to websites relating to the civil rights movement. The many links to museums, archives, articles, and documentaries help to preserve the history of the struggle for racial equality in the United States.
Civil Rights Movement Websites and Video Links
http://www.besthistorysites.net/index.php/american-history/1900/civil-rights
EdTech Teacher Resources provides another long list of civil rights related websites which includes video clips of important civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP)
The nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization was founded in 1909 by a small group of civil rights leaders led by W.E.B. Dubois to promote political equality and educational opportunities for African Americans. The organization continues to promote educational opportunity through scholarships and lobbying efforts, but it also promotes a wide range of issues affecting racial minorities in the United States.
The National Organization for Women(NOW)
The National Organization for Women is the nation’s largest organization for the promotion of women’s equality. Founded in 1966, NOW has been a leader in fighting for issues such as ending harassment in the workplace, ending violence against women, promoting equal pay for women, and protecting the reproductive rights of women.
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
The National Council of La Raza is the largest national organization for Hispanic civil rights and advocacy. Since 1968, NCLR has conducted applied research, policy analysis, and advocacy in five key areas—assets/investments, civil rights/immigration, education, employment and economic status, and health.
The Asian American Justice Center (AAJC)
http://www.advancingequality.org/
Since 1991, the Asian American Justice Center has worked for the advancement of civil rights for Asian Americans by providing expertise and advocacy to policymakers in areas like immigration, affirmative action, voting rights, language access, and the prevention of hate crimes.
Could You Pass the U.S. Citizenship Test?
The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified at the conclusion of the Civil War, provides for American citizenship to everyone born in the United States (i.e., “birth citizenship”). Immigrants who wish to become citizens, however, must complete a long and often difficult bureaucratic process to gain citizenship. One of the requirements is to pass a “citizenship test,” in which potential citizens must demonstrate a basic knowledge of U.S. history and civics. The sample test linked above is an example of the kinds of questions asked on the citizenship test. Could you pass the citizenship test? Do you think most “birth citizens” are up to the task of passing the citizenship test?