Civil Rights

Civil rights law defines who is protected from discrimination and what remedies are available when violations occur. The foundational federal civil rights laws — the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Fair Housing Act of 1968, and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 — prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, and disability in employment, housing, and public accommodations. The Supreme Court has been the dominant force in defining and limiting these protections, most recently in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), which banned race-conscious college admissions, and in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health (2022), which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. Congressional debates over civil rights include: whether to add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal anti-discrimination laws (the Equality Act); the future of affirmative action; criminal justice reform and disparities in incarceration and policing; and the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in federal agencies and contractors, which the Trump administration has sought to eliminate. Internationally, the U.S. civil rights framework is often cited as a model, but the UN Human Rights Council has reviewed the U.S. record on racial disparities and policing.