Congress has enacted a number of civil rights statutes prohibiting discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. These statutes are as follows: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion and national origin); Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting sex discrimination); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (prohibiting disability discrimination); Title II of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (prohibiting disability discrimination by public entities); and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (prohibiting age discrimination).
The courts have been slower than Congress but have made landmark decisions that have helped America become great—a work in progress. Unfortunately, the Robert’s court is poised to turn back the clock.
Making America truly great would not be a retreat to the past but a forward movement to an inclusive, diverse citizenship predicated on the ideal that all people are equal, that we should have an equal opportunity to reach our individual potential, and that this country is great only when it recognizes those principles.
White folks are not the demons; nor are people of color, men, or women. However, identity politics that operate under a zero-sum mentality rather than a win-win mindset is foolish. “A house divided cannot stand!”
Join hands! Pick leaders who represent us all and who want to make America great by unifying the country, not by tearing it apart! VOTE this November.
Carole J. Garrison 