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Equal Rights Amendment.
This is a proposed amendment that calls for men and women to be treated completely equally under the law. It was originally introduced by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman and is still being debated today. Opponents argue that the loss of protections for women such as alimony and the lack of possibility for women to be drafted would outweigh gains in equality. Supporters argue that true equality is worth it and that equality under law calls for the removal of theses protections. -
Formation and Goals of the United Farm Workers Movement
The United Farm Workers was founded by Caesar Chavez in March of 1962. He founded this organization to create a union for migrant farm workers. His organization fought for better working conditions such as the availability of outhouses/bathrooms. His organization also fought for fair pay for these workers. -
Equal Pay Act of 1963
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a labor law that amended the Fair Labor Standards Act. This act's purpose was to abolish wage disparity based on sex. The act failed to apply to executives, administrators, outside salespeople and professionals until it was amended in 1972 by the Education Amendments. Women's wages have increased from 62.3% of men's wages in 1979 to 80.4% of men's wages in 2004 -
California Grape Boycott
This boycott originally started as a strike but became a boycott as well. The strike composed of both Mexican and Filipino workers. They fought for better working conditions and pay. Caesar eventually turned to fasting taking inspiration from Gandhi. In 1970 the farm owners finally relented and signed union contracts. -
Brown Berets
The YCCA was formed in 1966 by a group of high school students that came together to discuss problems in their community. They decided to wear brown berets to symbolize their unity. Their goal was to fight police harassment, inadequate schools, healthcare and job opportunities as well as oppose the Vietnam War. -
Formation of the National Organization for Women
N.O.W. was founded in 1966 by 28 women at the Third National Conference of Comissions on the Status of Women. The founders were frustrated by the lack of enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They aimed to create a sort of NAACP for women to combat continuing discrimination. -
American Indian Movement
It was started in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, Eddie Benton Banai and George Mitchell. The goal of the organization was to help Native Americans who had been forced from reservation by government programs. It eventually took on the goals of getting Native Americans economic independence, restoration of lands that they believed had been illegally seized, autonomy in tribal areas and revitalization of their traditional culture. -
Chicano Blowouts
This movement started when a group of students in LA walked out of school. Students at other schools soon followed. They were protesting rundown schools, lack of college prep courses and teachers who were poorly trained or racist. -
Occupation of Alcatraz
Many Native Americans wanted to reclaim Alcatraz Island and turn it into a cultural center and school for Native Americans. Their early efforts failed. Following a fire that destroyed the San Francisco American Indian Center, a group called Indians of All Tribes set their sites on Alcatraz. They occupied the land and demanded the deed to the island. This occupation lasted until Jun 1971. The occupation failed. -
Stonewall Riots
These riots started after a police raid on a gay club called Stonewall Inn in New York. These clubs were safe havens for LGBT people during this time. The authorities argued that a gathering of LGBT people was "disorderly". This sparked 6 days of rioting and protest against the poor treatment of the LGBT community. -
La Raza Unida
The party was started at a meeting of 300 Mexican-Americans. The organization. The party had the goal of improving conditions for the Chicano. A member of the party ran for Governor of Texas in 1972 but was not elected -
Trail of Broken Treaties
This was a nationwide protest in which a multitude of Native American Civil Rights groups marched from the west coast to Washington DC. The purpose of this protest was to bring attention to Native American treaty rights, inadequate housing and poor living conditions. They gathered at the nations capital and tried to present a paper called the Twenty Point Position Paper. The Nixon administration refused to receive the document. -
Phyllis Schlafly and the Defeat of the ERA
Phyllis Schlafly prevented the ERA from being passed. She argued that the amendment guaranteed the possibility of women being drafted. She also argued that it would eliminate alimony and the tendency for women to gain custody of their children following a divorce. Some argued that it would allow same sex marriage. She also argued that the amendment would only benefit women who had careers and would threaten the security of middle aged housewives without job skills. -
Roe vs Wade
This was a Supreme Court case on the validity of laws that restricted or prohibited abortions. The court said that there must be balance between the concerns for the health of women, the potential for human life and the right of the women to choose. The court ruled that these restrictions were only okay in regard to the third trimester of pregnancy. This was amended by a later ruling that these laws could apply as long as the child could survive outside the mother's body without assistance. -
Siege of Wounded Knee
This protest was started by the American Indian Movement. They started this protest due to the failure of OSCRO to impeach tribal leader Richard Wilson who was accused of corruption and abuse of opponents. The protesters later criticized the governments failure to abide by treaties made with Native Americans. The protesters took control of the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre for 71 days. -
Murder of Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay official in California. He championed gay rights. He defeated a proposal that would have banned LGBT teachers in California. On Nov 27th 1978 he and the mayor were killed by Dan White. White got off with voluntary manslaughter. This sparked anger and caused the White Night riots. -
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
This was an act meant to regulate gambling on Native American reservations. Prior to this act, there was no federal structure for this prior to this act. This often caused conflict between the state governments and Native American tribes. This act outlined the jurisdiction of the state governments and federal government over Native American gaming. -
The Murder of Matthew Shephard
Matthew Shepherd was murdered on Oct 6, 1998. He was pistol whipped, tortured and shot by Russel Henderson and Aaron McKinney. McKinney received two consecutive life terms in prison. -
Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was a policy in which people were not asked about their sexual orientation so that LGBT people could serve in the military. This meant that to serve in the military LGBT people had to be in the closet. This prejudiced policy was repealed in 2011 -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This was a case in the Supreme Court about the constitutionality of laws prohibiting same sex marriage. The court ruled that such laws were unconstitutional under the 14th amendment. This decision caused backlash. Some officials refused to grant marriage licenses to gay couples.
