Defending Civil Rights
(see also Civil Rights Movement, Attack on Civil Liberties, Defending Civil Liberties)
Basics
Civil rights for US citizens include especially the right to vote, the right to move about freely, and the right to equal protection under the law. These rights, like our broader civil liberties, are guaranteed by the Constitution and its several Amendments. But they are not inalienable (for example, convicted felons may be denied freedom of movement, in in some states even the right to vote); & they have often been more honored in the breach than in the observance. Their refinement, expansion & enforcement therefore has, and continues, to be accomplished by means of ongoing political struggle, legislation, and perpetual vigilance.
On the Web: Articles
On the Web: Specialized Sites
American Civil Liberties Union.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Center for Constitutional Rights.
Civil Rights Law. From the Legal Database.
Equal Rights Amendment. First proposed in 1923, still not part of our Constitution.
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF).
Southern Center for Human Rights.
US Commission on Civil Rights.
In the Library: Articles
In the Library: Non-Fiction Books
Asch, Sidney H. Civil Rights & Responsibilities under the Constitution (NY: Arco, 1968).
Dudziak, Mary L. Cold War Civil Rights: Race & the Image of American Democracy (Princeton NJ: Princeton U, 2000).
Graham, Hugh Davis. The Civil Rights Era: The Origins & Development of National Policy, 1960-1972 (NY: Oxford, 1990).
__________. Civil Rights & the Presidency: Race & Gender in American Politics, 1960-1972 (NY: Oxford, 1992).
Greenberg, Jack. Crusaders in the Courts: How a Dedicated Band of Lawyers Fought for the Civil Rights Revolution (NY: Basic Books, 1994).