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13th Amendment
This amendment abolished slavery in the United States and says that, " Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly any place subject to their jurisdiction. -
14th Amendment
This amendment was ratified during the Reconstructit Era. "All persons born in the United States, including African Americans, are citizens of the country. This amendment was mostly based on African Americans becoming citizens of the United States. Also to apply equal protection of the law. -
15th Amendment
This was also during the Reconstruction Era. It stated that African American men had the right to vote by declaring that " citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied by the U.S. or by any state of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
The Louisiana Legislation passed the Separate Car Act which said, " to provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races." Homer Plessy was one- eighth black and was chosen to test the law by violating it on purpose. He bough a first class ticket, and sat in the whites only section. When he was asked to move, and Plessy refused he was arrested. He was charged with violating the Separate Car Law, and was found guilty. He appealed his conviction which was upheld. -
Mendez vs Westminister
Gonzalo mendez's children were registering for Westminister Main School. They returned home and were told they have to go to Hover School which is where all the Mexican American citizens go. March 2, 1945, Mendez's attorney filed a class action in a U.S. District Court. They argued about the situation, and the attorney knew he couldn't argue that segregation based on race was unconstitutional because of the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. The case was assigned to the U.S. District Court. -
Delgado vs Bastrop
This case was in relation to the Mendez case of 1946. The attorneys argued that the school districts had prohibited Mexican- American children from attending public schools with white children. Which indeed was violating the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment. -
Sweatt vs Painter
Heman Sweatt wanted to be a lawyer and attend the University of Austin. Heman showed the president of the university his undergraduate transcript from Willey College. He asserted he had a right to the same legal training as any other person who was a college graduate. Theophilus Painter said, " this applicant is a citizen of Texas and duly qualified for admission into the Law School, and except the fact he's a Negro." They tried to work around it, but he denied. It was appealed to Supreme Court. -
Hernandez vs Texas
Pete Hernandez was a 21 year old male cotton picker. He was drinking with a friend at a local bar in Jacksonville, TX. Pete became disruptive and removed from the bar, came back with a gun, and shot Joe Espinosa. Pete's lawyers argued that exclusion of persons of Mexican- American decent deprived him of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th amendment. October 1951, Pate Hernandez was found guilty of murder, and sentenced with life in prison. -
Brown vs Board of Education
A Kansas law permitted cities with a population of 15,000 or more to maintain separate public schools for African- Americans and white schools. In Topeka, Kansas, there were segregated elementary schools while other districts didn't. Linda Brown had to attend a school 21 blocks from her house that was for black children only. Her parents and other joined and argued that schools weren't equal, and also how they were harmful. The court ruled schools have to be substantially equal, and that's it. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
It was the first Civil Rights Act legislation since Reconstruction, and was signed by President Eisenhower. The new act established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Departmemnt and empowered federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to voted. Also, established a federal Civil Rights Commission with authority to investigate discriminatory conditions. -
24th Amendment of 1964
It outlawed poll taxes as a voting requirement in federal elections. At the time, only 5 states maintained poll taxes which affected Affrican American votes. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Act outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It said everybody has equal access to public places and employment, and enforced desegregation of schools and the right to vote. It was signed by President Lyndon Johnson. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This was signed by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965. It was to overcome legal barriers at the state and nation level that prevented African Americcans their right to vote under the 15th Amendment. -
Edgewood vs Kirdy
Under the Texas system, the state appropriated funds to provide each child a minimum education with funds derived from local levied property taxes. The plaintiffs stated that it gave better education to the wealthy students, and worse education to the poor students. They argued that the states public school finance system violated the Texas Constitution. The District Court favored their argument and said the finance system is unconstitutional.
