LLS 1348 - I, Too, Sing America!

Credits: 3 hrs.

What does it mean to be “American”? In this seminar, we shall focus on groups that have been excluded from full citizenship rights in America based on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, and sexual orientation, with particular attention to the struggle of African Americans. The first part of the seminar will focus on the first Civil Rights Acts (1866 & 1875), ending with the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Supreme Court decision legalizing racial discrimination. The second part of the seminar shall focus on the civil rights struggle of the 1950s, leading up to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Supreme Court decision making racial discrimination illegal, as well as the keystone civil rights legislation (1964 Civil Rights Act, renewed in 2004). Finally, we will examine what civil rights issues still confront African Americans and other groups today.