This is the fifth installment of the Untold Series where I look at some of the most important civil rights cases. I quickly unpack their stories and why I believe they are significant. This series is an adaption to an ad hoc seminar I created while a student at Duke University School of Law.
In this video I look at The Civil Rights Cases (1883). Similar to Brown v. Board of Education, this case is a consolidation of five cases where the Plaintiffs filed discrimination suits against the defendants based upon the Civil Rights Act of 1875, America’s second civil rights law.
The Court was asked to decide if the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional under the 10th Amendment. The court’s holding and reasoning, I argue, highlight a critical problem that has had lingering effect on how we currently address the issue of race.
Books Mentioned:
1. Black Trials by Mark Weiner: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Trials-Citizenship-Beginnings-Slavery-ebook/dp/B000XUADL8/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=black+trials+mark&qid=1589581351&s=books&sr=1-3
2. Inherently Unequal: The Betrayal of Equal Rights by the Supreme Court by Lawrence Goldstone: https://www.amazon.com/Inherently-Unequal-Betrayal-Supreme-1865-1903/dp/0802778852
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
