Exploring American Inequality: History and Discrimination Insights

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Sociology

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Nov 24, 2024

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American Inequality Webquest Directions : With a partner, read about each of the topics/events/scenarios below. Discuss if and how these led to further discrimination. History of American Discrimination and Inequality - How did these lead to further discrimination? 1- White primaries, Poll tax + Literacy tests + Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Poll taxes led to further discrimination because people did not want black people to vote, they created a tax that mainly affected the black peoples’ rights to vote. Black people were recently allowed to vote, and some states opposed this idea, so they decided to create poll taxes and since black families were poor, they were not able to pay the poll tax and make a vote. Literacy Tests were another form of restricting blacks from voting, and furthered discrimination. Literacy Tests were given to black men to see if they were ‘educated enough’ to vote. This test was unreasonably hard and was purposely so to ensure that black people had very little chance of passing and being allowed to vote. Only recently were black people, formally slaves considered as people of the United States, and since then, most of them did not have education, which meant that they would not be able to pass the test and hence would not be able to vote. Plessy v. Ferguson led to further discrimination because of the newly created “Separate but equal” doctrine. This stated that as long as both black and white people were provided with the same amenities, there could be separate areas for just whites or just blacks. This furthered discrimination because people were allowed to stay separate from the other color, and hence would have a similar mindset towards the other color. This would develop the superiority complex that was the cause of the trial in the first place, and make no change from before, but in fact make it worse. 2-Segregation + Jim Crow Laws + racial restrictive covenants [ video ] Segregation furthered discrimination because it was a catalyst in the whites developing a superiority complex from staying together and sharing the same ideas, which allowed them to bully and pick on the blacks even though they had done nothing wrong. The Jim Crow Laws furthered discrimination because it helped increase segregation. Racial Restrictive Covenants furthered discrimination because it prevented the sale or lease of houses to black people. This removed the ability for black people to live in a white community and diversify it, and ultimately help show them that there are not many differences between them apart from skin color. Instead, this forced blacks to live in smaller and more lower conditioned houses in black communities. Fighting inequality -How did each of these fight discriminations? 3- Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954)

Brown v. Topeka Board of Education fought discrimination because it ended segregations in public schools. The unanimous favor was in favor of Brown and the majority opinion stated that it was inherently visible that the segregated facilities were not equal, which violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. It also stated that having schools be segregated instilled a sense of inferiority that had a hugely detrimental effect on the education and personal growth of African American children. 4- Voting Rights Act of 1965 + minority-majority districts The Voting Rights Act of 1965 fought discrimination because it outlawed all the discriminatory practices that were adopted to stop black people from voting. This outlawed poll taxes, literacy tests, and even put a number of states under federal supervision to ensure voting was carried out properly The minority-majority districts fought discrimination because it put minorities as the larger population in majority of the districts. This meant that the minority now had a voice and could voice out their opinions on what they think should change. 5- Civil rights act of 1964 Title II and Title VII - US v. Heart of Atlanta Motel In Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States the court held that the government could enforce not discriminating against motels on the basis of race. This effectively combated discrimination because it prevented an further discrimination in motels. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the bases of race, gender, color, and religion. This helped fight discrimination because it made it illegal to segregate based on race and color. 6- Fair housing Act and Amendments 1968 and 1988 The fair housing act prevents segregation, discrimination, and inequal treatment when renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing- related activities. This effectively fought discrimination because it prohibited people from making other people of other colors and races pay high rates and gave these homebuyers equal protection. 7- Affirmative action + Class action suits + University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978) Affirmative action is a policy that gives underrepresented populations the resources and opportunities to be successful. This stopped discrimination because it gave blacks the materials to fight people that discriminated against them.

A class action lawsuit allows one member to represent a whole group of people. This allowed the black population to hire an educated member to represent them and fight for them in court. It can help combat discrimination because the blacks will have an educated member fighting for them, increasing their chances of winning. University of California Regents v. Bakke ruled that the university's use of racial quotas was unconstitutional. This helped combat discrimination by making it illegal for universities to disciminate against a certain race. 8- Title IX and the history of Title IX Title XI prohibits the discrimination based on gender for educational programs. This combated discrimination by giving men and women the same opportunities in educational programs. Since the enactment of Title IX, women participation in sports has increased. During the history of Title IX women participation in many sports and activities has increased. 9- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990) Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on disablility. This intuitively stopped discrimination against people with disablilites, and gave them equal opportunities.

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