# data[].attributes.body
In the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court. This 1857 decision reinforced the institution of slavery before being overturned by the 13th and 14th Amendments.

# data[].attributes.body
The 13th Amendment was a landmark in American history, formally abolishing slavery. This constitutional change marked a pivotal step towards equal rights, laying a foundational block for future civil rights movements.

# data[].attributes.body
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, and promised equal protection under the law. This amendment significantly altered the Constitution, ensuring that state laws could not deny citizens equal protection.

# data[].attributes.body
The 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote, aiming to eradicate racial barriers to voting. However, it would take nearly a century and the Civil Rights Movement to fully realize its promise, due to pervasive voter suppression tactics.

# data[].attributes.body
This Supreme Court decision established the 'separate but equal' doctrine, legitimizing state laws that imposed racial segregation. Plessy v. Ferguson effectively enshrined racial discrimination in law, setting the stage for the Civil Rights Movement to overturn this precedent.

# data[].attributes.body
De jure segregation is segregation that is enforced by law. It was a significant barrier to civil rights in the United States, existing primarily in the South. Landmark cases like Brown v. Board of Education aimed to dismantle de jure segregation, marking a significant step towards equal rights.

# data[].attributes.body
Jim Crow laws were state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. Named after a black minstrel show character, these laws existed for about 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until 1968. They were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education, and other opportunities.

# data[].attributes.body
The 19th Amendment prohibited the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, marking a pivotal moment in the women’s suffrage movement. This amendment significantly changed the Constitution by expanding voting rights.

# data[].attributes.body
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson's 'separate but equal' doctrine. This decision was a monumental step towards ending de jure segregation in the United States, affecting educational and societal structures.

# data[].attributes.body
The desegregation of Central High School gained national attention. Federal judge Ronald Davies began legal proceedings against Faubus, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower attempted to persuade Faubus to remove the National Guard. On September 23, 1957, President Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10730, sending federal troops to maintain order and peace while the integration of Central High School took place.

# data[].attributes.body
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace, and by facilities that served the general public. This act was a cornerstone in the fight against racial injustice.

# data[].attributes.body
De facto segregation refers to racial separation that is not supported by law but is entrenched in social, economic, and political systems. Even after the legal barriers were removed, de facto segregation persisted, especially in housing and education, reflecting deep-rooted societal prejudices.

# data[].attributes.body
This act outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S. It eliminated voter suppression tactics and was later expanded to protect language minorities' voting rights, significantly influencing American democracy and civil rights.

# data[].attributes.body
Affirmative action refers to policies that support members of disadvantaged groups that have previously suffered discrimination in areas such as education and employment. While controversial, these policies aim to level the playing field and have sparked significant legal and societal debates on equality.

# data[].attributes.body
Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court that recognized women's constitutional right to privacy, effectively legalizing abortion. While primarily about women's rights, it emphasized the importance of the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause in protecting personal liberties.

# data[].attributes.body
In Bakke v. Regents of the University of California, the Supreme Court ruled that racial quotas in college admissions were unconstitutional but allowed race to be one of several factors in the admissions process. This case highlighted the complexities of affirmative action policies and their constitutionality under the 14th Amendment.

# data[].attributes.body
Article III standing demands that an actual controversy persist throughout all stages of litigation. More specifically, when a federal court declared unconstitutional a California proposition amending the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the official proponents of the proposition did not have standing to defend its constitutionality.

# data[].attributes.body
The Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed outside the state.

# data[].attributes.headline
2018: Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

# data[].attributes.subject
2018: Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

# data[].attributes.body
The laws and the Constitution can and sometimes must protect gay persons and gay couples in the exercise of their civil rights, but religious and philosophical objections to gay marriage are protected views and sometimes protected forms of expression.

# data[].attributes.body
Bostock held that discrimination against transgender and gay employees qualified as discrimination “because of sex” and it is disparate treatment discrimination in violation of Title VII. [13] It is now a violation of Title VII for employers to fail to hire an applicant solely because they are transgender or gay.