civil right
Guaranteed personal liberty
A civil right is a legal guarantee of equal treatment and protection under the law, typically concerning participation in civic life.
Civil rights include voting, access to public facilities, and freedom from discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or other characteristics.
The term often appears in plural: the civil rights movement, civil rights legislation.
Violations involve the state or its agents denying protections the law promises.
Absence of unjust constraint
- suffrageRight to cast ballots
- voting rightsEntitlement to elect officials
- free speechProtected verbal liberty
- freedom of assemblyRight to gather peacefully
freedom of religion · freedom of press · due process · habeas corpus · emancipation · self-determination · enfranchisement · franchise
Uniform legal treatment
- non-discriminationEqual treatment regardless of difference
- equal opportunityUnbiased chance for all
- fairnessJust and equal treatment
- equityImpartial treatment or ownership value
parity · equal treatment · desegregation · integration · inclusivity · racial equality · gender equality · marriage equality
Direct effort for reform
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- marchRhythmic group walk
- boycottOrganized economic protest
- sit-inProtest by remaining seated
Freedom Rides · March on Washington · Selma · Montgomery Bus Boycott · NAACP · CORE · nonviolent resistance · demonstration
- Rosa ParksCivil rights icon
- John Lewis
- Thurgood Marshall
- Cesar Chavez
Frederick Douglass · Harriet Tubman · Ida B. Wells · W.E.B. Du Bois · Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Harvey Milk · Nelson Mandela · Mahatma Gandhi
Inherent physical or structural makeup
- amendmentChange to official text
- Bill of RightsInitial constitutional amendments guaranteeing freedoms
- Fourteenth AmendmentPost-Civil War constitutional addition
- Voting Rights ActLaw against electoral discrimination
statute · litigation · discrimination lawsuit · class action · injunction · precedent · Brown v. Board · Loving v. Virginia
liberty
Absence of unjust constraint
- suffrageRight to cast ballots
- voting rightsEntitlement to elect officials
- free speechProtected verbal liberty
freedom of assembly · freedom of religion · freedom of press · due process · habeas corpus · emancipation · self-determination · enfranchisement · franchise · political participation
equal protection
Uniform legal treatment
- non-discriminationEqual treatment regardless of difference
- equal opportunityUnbiased chance for all
- fairnessJust and equal treatment
equity · parity · equal treatment · desegregation · integration · inclusivity · racial equality · gender equality · marriage equality · disability rights
activism
Direct effort for reform
sit-in · Freedom Rides · March on Washington · Selma · Montgomery Bus Boycott · NAACP · CORE · nonviolent resistance · demonstration · picket
Martin Luther King Jr.
- Rosa ParksCivil rights icon
- John Lewis
- Thurgood Marshall
Cesar Chavez · Frederick Douglass · Harriet Tubman · Ida B. Wells · W.E.B. Du Bois · Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Harvey Milk · Nelson Mandela · Mahatma Gandhi · Desmond Tutu
constitution
Inherent physical or structural makeup
- amendmentChange to official text
- Bill of RightsInitial constitutional amendments guaranteeing freedoms
- Fourteenth AmendmentPost-Civil War constitutional addition
Voting Rights Act · statute · litigation · discrimination lawsuit · class action · injunction · precedent · Brown v. Board · Loving v. Virginia · EEOC
civil rightprivilege
Exclusive right or benefit
disenfranchisement · disqualification · prohibition · restriction · limitation
civil rightlegal duty
Law-imposed obligation
civil liability · injunction · restraint · compulsion · mandate
civil rightoppression
Unjust exercise of power
subjugation · disenfranchisement · tyranny · discrimination · Jim Crow
right, civil, citizen, civic, civilian, citizens, uncivil, civility, municipal