Transcript Newly active groups under the civil rights umbrella

NEWLY ACTIVE
GROUPS UNDER THE
CIVIL RIGHTS
UMBRELLA
Charles Rainero, Nick Nybo, Zach
Reineke, Alex Rovner
CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE GRAYING OF AMERICA
 Minorities are not the only Americans struggling for civil rights
 Aging Americans
 Many businesses don’t hire people after a certain age
 Grad schools often reject applicants in their thirties on the grounds that their professions
would get fewer years, and thus less return out of them
 Housewives and veterans are effected by this
 People with disabilities
 Homosexuals
CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE GRAYING OF AMERICA
 1967
 Congress banned age discrimination
 1975 - Age Discrimination in Employment Act
 Civil rights laws denied federal funds to any institution discriminating against people
over the age of 40 because of their age
 Amended in 1978 to raise the general compulsory retirement age to 70
 Supreme court refuses to place age in the suspect classification category
when it upheld a state law requiring police officers to retire at the age
of 50
 Job bias is often hidden
 Employees can win lawsuits without evidence
CIVIL RIGHTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
 Direct discrimination
 People with disabilities are denied jobs and education
 Indirect discrimination
 Stairs, buses, telephones and other necessities have been designed in ways that do
not help these individuals
 1920s
 The first rehabilitation laws were passed to assist WWI veterans
 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
 Protected people with disabilities from discrimination
CIVIL RIGHTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
 Required employers and administrations to make reasonable
accommodations for people with disabilities
 ADA must offer protection to people with AIDS
 ADA doesn’t protect people whose impairments can be treated with medicine or
glasses
 Budgeting is usually the main factor that causes people not to favor
disability programs
GAY AND LESBIAN RIGHTS
 Gay activists may face the toughest battle for equality
 Homosexual activity is illegal in some states
 Prejudice in hiring, education, access to public accommodations, and housing
 A substantial percentage of the American public expresses opposition to
the entrance of homosexuals into many common occupations
 Gay activists have won some important victories
 Seven states and more than 100 communities have passed laws
protecting homosexuals against some forms of discrimination