Thomas H. Roberts & Associates,
P.C.
Virginia's Civil Rights Law Firm
(804) 783-2000
Civil Rights Primer |
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Race Discrimination Legal History The legal assault on "separate but equal" doctrine articulated in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896) began in 1938 when the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the denial of legal education to blacks in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337 (1938). from 1943 until 1964 bill prohibiting discrimination in employment were introduced in Congress. In 1963 President Kennedy submitted a proposed Civil Rights Act to Congress. Proponents of civil rights managed to provisions related to non-discrimination in employment--what became Title VII.Also the landmark school desegregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)- holding that separate is not equal marked a turning point in this nations policies. §1981 To eradicate slavery as set forth in the 13th Amendment, Section 1981 was originally enacted as Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. After ratification of the 14th Amendment, Section 1981 was reenacted in 1870 as the Civil Rights Act of 1870. In 1989 the Supreme Court in Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U.S. (1989) severely limited the application of this statute. Additionally in 1989 the Supreme Court ruled that local governments cannot be held liable under §1981 based on respondeat superior. Jett v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 491 U.S. 701 (1989). In Dennis v. County of Fairfax, 55 F.3d 151, 156 (4th Cir. 1995), the Fourth Circuit stated that the new provisions had not reversed Jett but merely codified Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160 (1976), which held that §1981 covers private parties in the making and enforcement of contracts. §1985 Originally known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, § 1985(3) was enacted as part of the Enforcement Act of 1871. It lay dormant until 1951, when the Supreme Court stated that it was intended to reach only those conspiracies under color of state law. In 1971, the Supreme Court reversed itself and said that it was intended to reach private conspiracies. Griffin v. Breckenridge, 403 U.S. 88 (1971). It provides a remedy for the conspiracy for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws or of equal privileges and immunities under the law. §1986Derived from the Civil Rights Act of 1871, § 6, 17 Stat. 15. It protects rights safeguarded under § 1985. It applies to private persons or state officials. Those who have the power to prevent or aid in preventing the commission of civil rights wrongs, but neglect or refuse to do so are liable.
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