The Civil Rights Act of 1964 marked the culmination of what was perhaps the most critical and momentous period in American history in the fight for equality and in the recognition of the personal freedoms and liberties granted in and guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Key amendments, such as the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, sought to curb rampant discrimination based on race or color. The realization of these civil rights, though, was hampered by state laws and federal court opinions that gave a green light to laws and practices based upon racial segregation and the notion that “separate but equal” was sufficient to satisfy the equal protection of the law assured by the Fourteenth Amendment. It would be decades before Brown v. Board of Education would offer some hope that racial segregation would be eliminated and that all people would truly be created equal. Unrest, coupled with Freedom Rides, sit-ins and peaceful marches in the 1950s and 1960s, provided the catalyst for one of the most important pieces of legislation in the era, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and paved the way for additional legislation and protections. The struggle for equality did not end with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; it continues today with the quest for greater protection and equality for Black people, members of the LGBT community, and the disabled.
For those interested in learning about the origins of civil rights and liberties and its evolution throughout history, HeinOnline has created a new database: Civil Rights and Social Justice. Researchers are treated to a wide array of publications that capture the spirit of the era, including committee prints, CRS and GAO reports, hearings, legislative histories, and Supreme Court briefs. There are also reports made to or on behalf of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, the agency tasked with studying alleged discrimination and advancing civil rights through investigation, research, and analysis. CRS reports cover such topics as affirmative action and diversity in public education, congressional redistricting and the Voting Rights Act, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” enemy combatant detainees, and hate crime legislation. Users interested in viewing compiled legislative histories of key civil rights legislation are in luck because HeinOnline provides access to legislative histories of such laws as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972. Another highlight of the database is the “Statement of Essential Human Rights,” a project of the American Law Institute begun in the 1940s to address key issues raised in the aftermath of World War II. Its appearance in the database represents the first time that the Statement has been available digitally. Users can also find related scholarly articles from law reviews and journals as well links to external sources, such as the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
For more information about the database and researching on HeinOnline, be sure to check out the associated LibGuide. There, you will find an explanation of the difference between civil rights and civil liberties, a outline of the major legislative protections, and a summary of the content available on the Civil Rights and Social Justice database. Search tips and training materials are also available.
For information on acquiring remote access to HeinOnline, check out this blog post from September 15, 2020.
