Commission on Civil Rights

(noun)

A bipartisan, independent commission of the U.S. federal government, created in 1957, that is charged with the responsibility for investigating, reporting on, and making recommendations concerning civil rights issues that face the nation.

Related Terms

Examples of Commission on Civil Rights in the following topics:

  • Discrimination Against Individuals

    • Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on his or her membership (or perceived membership) in a certain group.
    • Racial discrimination results in unequal treatment between individuals on the basis of real and perceived racial differences.
    • In a 1979 consultation on the issue, the United States commission on civil rights defined religious discrimination in relation to the civil rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which deals with due process and equal fairness of all citizens under the law.
    • According to the commission, religious discrimination occurs when someone is denied " the equal protection of the laws, equality of status under the law, equal treatment in the administration of justice, and equality of opportunity and access to employment, education, housing, public services and facilities, and public accommodation because of their exercise of their right to religious freedom. "
    • An African-American child at a segregated drinking fountain on a courthouse lawn, North Carolina, 1938

  • Civil Rights Act

    • White-only restaurants are an example of the type of discrimination that was outlawed as a result of the Civil Rights Act.
    • Expanded the Civil Rights Commission established by the earlier Civil Rights Act of 1957 with additional powers, rules and procedures.
    • Required compilation of voter-registration and voting data in geographic areas specified by the Commission on Civil Rights.
    • This was of crucial importance to civil rights activists who could not get a fair trial in state courts.
    • Gives the jury rights to put any proceeding for criminal contempt arising under title II, III, IV, V, VI, or VII of the Civil Rights Act, on trial, and if convicted, can be fined no more than $1,000 or imprisoned for more than six months.

  • Legislative Change

    • The Civil Rights Act of 1957, primarily a voting rights bill, was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War.
    • The law, which focused exclusively on voting rights, set up a six-member Civil Rights Commission in the Executive Branch to gather information on deprivation of citizens' voting rights based on color, race, religion or national origin, legal background, and laws and policies of the federal government.
    • The act remains a landmark piece of civil rights legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
    • The prohibition on sex discrimination was added to the Civil Rights Act by Howard W.
    • Both men came to the Capitol to hear the Senate debate on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

  • Civil Rights and Voting Rights

    • The Civil Rights Act of 1964, enacted on July 2, 1964, was a landmark piece of legislation.
    • Further, it barred discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or gender, and established an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
    • Kennedy called for a civil rights act in his speech about civil rights on June 11, 1963.
    • Never in history had the Senate been able to muster enough votes to cut off a filibuster on a civil rights bill.
    • Examine the passage and significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

    • The UDHR urges member nations to promote a number of human, civil, economic and social rights, asserting these rights are part of the "foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."
    • The UDHR was framed by members of the Human Rights Commission, with Eleanor Roosevelt as Chair, who began to discuss an International Bill of Rights in 1947.
    • The members of the Commission did not immediately agree on the form of such a bill of rights, and whether, or how, it should be enforced.
    • The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols.
    • The Declaration has served as the foundation for two binding UN human rights covenants: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

  • Women of the Civil Rights Movement

    • Fannie Lou Hamer was an American voting rights activist, civil rights leader, and philanthropist.
    • The hymns also reflected Hamer's belief that the civil rights struggle was a deeply spiritual one.
    • Dorothy Irene Height was an American administrator, educator, and civil rights and women's rights activist specifically focused on the issues of African-American women, including unemployment, illiteracy, and voter awareness.
    • Viola Liuzzo was a Unitarian Universalist civil rights activist from Michigan.
    • In addition to other honors, Liuzzo's name is today inscribed on the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama created by Maya Lin.

  • Government Regulation

    • Regulation creates or constrains a right, creates or limits a duty, or allocates a responsibility.
    • Legislators created these agencies to allow experts in the industry to focus their attention on the issue.
    • At the federal level, one the earliest institutions was the Interstate Commerce Commission which had its roots in earlier state-based regulatory commissions and agencies.
    • Later agencies include the Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission , Civil Aeronautics Board, and various other institutions.
    • The Securities and Exchange Commission is an example of a government regulatory agency.

  • Eleanor Roosevelt

    • Unlike her husband, Eleanor was a fervent supporter of civil rights for African Americans.
    • Despite the fact that during the post-WWII period black leaders accused Eleanor of giving up on the civil rights struggle, she was an unusual representative of her own class.
    • She was the chairperson of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and one of the key officials behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
    • This decision provoked opposition and disappointment among African Americans as Stevenson was a segregationist and  civil rights opponent. 
    • Kennedy reappointed her to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations, asked her to serve on the Presidential Advisory Commission for the Peace Corps, and made her chair of the Presidential Commission of the Status of Women.

  • The John F. Kennedy Administration

    • Kennedy's presidency is known for his New Frontier policies, containment policy toward the Soviet Union, support for civil rights, and expansion of the space program.
    • Kennedy wanted to dismantle the selection of immigrants based on country of origin and saw this as an extension of his civil rights policies.
    • Kennedy also made several motions to support African-American civil rights as well as the rights of other marginalized groups, such as women.
    • During his time in office, he signed the executive order creating the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women on December 14, 1961.
    • Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt led the commission.

  • The Role of Religion in the Civil Rights Movement

    • Religion and religious institutions had a massive impact on the Civil Rights Movement.
    • The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization that  was central to the Civil Rights Movement.
    • When civil rights activists protesting segregation in St.
    • King spoke on the voting rights struggle.
    • The portrait was based on a drawing by Ben Shahn, commissioned for Time magazine's March 19, 1965 cover.