Download Ch. 28, Section 3 Notes

“The Equal Rights Struggle Expands”
Other groups borrowed heavily from the Civil Rights
struggles of African Americans:
 They created organizations similar to the SCLC and
SNCC to fight for their cause
 Many used non-violent protests to bring attention to
their causes
 Laws passed due to the African American civil
rights movement protected the rights of members
of these other groups as well
(eg. Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination
based on color, gender, religion, or national origin)
Mexican Americans Organize
• By 1960’s most Mexican
Americans lived in the cities
of the southwest
• League of United Latin
American Citizens created
decades earlier continued to
fight for rights for Hispanics
• La Raza Unida (“United
People”) – organization
formed in 1970 that fought for
better jobs, pay, education,
housing, and to elect Mexican
American candidates
Mexican Americans (continued)
• Cesar Chavez – started
a union for migrant
farmers in California
– Used non-violent
protests, strikes, and
boycotts
– won a contract with
higher pay and better
benefits
Mexican Americans (continued)
• Cinco de Mayo – May 5th holiday which
celebrates the 1862 victory of Mexico over
France (holiday for Mexican national and
cultural pride)
• Mexican American students in the Southwest
fought for better schools, more courses on
Mexican-American culture and history, and more
Mexican-American teachers
• By mid 1970’s many of the school reforms that
the students called for had been made
Gains for Hispanics
• A 1968 amendment to the
Elementary and Secondary
Education Act required
schools to teach students
whose first language was not
English in both languages
until they learned English
• The Voting Rights Act of 1975
required communities with
large immigrant populations
to print ballots in the voters’
preferred language
Hispanic
Diversity
• Hispanics trace their roots to Spanish-speaking
countries and cultures
• Hispanic Americans come from different
countries, so they often have differences
– Mexicans concerned about immigration to the
U.S. and citizenship
– Cubans worried about the freedom of their
home country from communism
– Puerto Ricans (P.R. a territory of the U.S.) are
not worried about either issue (more worried
about economic issues)
The Women’s Movement
• In the 1960’s women also demanded
equal rights in job opportunities, pay,
legal rights, and to keep jobs if pregnant
• Laws passed during the African
American civil rights movement began
to protect the rights of women
– Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires
women to be paid the same as men
– Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans
discrimination based on gender
– Higher Education Act gives women
equal access to college education
Women’s
Rights Leaders
• Betty Friedan – wrote The
Feminine Mystique, a book
that described the problems
women faced in the 1950’s
and 1960’s; and was one of
the founders of N.O.W.
• Shirley Chisholm from NYC
was elected in 1968 as the
first African American woman
in the House of Reps.
The Women’s Movement (continued)
• National Organization
for Women (N.O.W.) –
organization formed in
1966 whose major
goals were to help
women get good jobs
and equal pay for
equal work
NOW protest in New Jersey in 1972 ►
• Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) –
Constitutional amendment passed by
Congress and sent to the states for
ratification
• It would guarantee women equal
opportunities in jobs and education,
and equal pay for equal work
• Conservative women, like Phyllis
Schlafly spoke out against ERA
saying it would hurt families if women
focused on careers rather
• Many argued that all the protections
in the ERA already existed in other
laws
• Needed 38 states to ratify it by 1982
(only 35 did)
Native Americans Unite
• Termination Policy – U.S. govt.
policy in 1953 that ended
federal protection of the
reservation land held by tribes
• National Congress of American
Indians – founded in 1944
– promoted pride in traditional
Native American cultures
– led protests against the
termination policy
National Congress of
American Indians logo
Native American
Protests Turn Radical
AIM leader Russell Means
• American Indian Movement –
fought a more aggressive
campaign for rights and
recognition of tribal laws
– Occupied the federal Bureau
of Indian Affairs in 1972 for 7
days in protest
– Occupied the village at
Wounded Knee, SD (site of
the US Army massacre of
Sioux Indians in 1890) which
ended in a bloody gunfight
with federal marshals
• Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 –
gave tribal governments more control over
social programs, law enforcement, and
education on reservations
• Issues today for Native Americans relate
to hunting and fishing rights, access to
water, and casino gambling
Disability
Rights
Movement
• Disabled in Action – organization
created in 1970 by activists that fought
to make people aware of the challenges
facing people with disabilities
• Laws that aided disabled people:
– Rehabilitation Act of 1973 banned
discrimination against those with
disabilities in federal agencies
– Education of Handicapped Children
Act of 1975 required public schools
to provide a quality education to
children with disabilities
– Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) of 1990 outlawed all
discrimination against people with
disabilities