Weekly Reflection: Protecting Civil Rights – The Struggle Continues

Jul 13, 2023

Earlier this month, July 2 was the 59th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The rights that are protected in this landmark legislation seem so obvious to us today. Yet it is important to remember that there were years of tremendous struggle just to get the legislation before Congress and months of struggle before Congress passed it. In fact, a filibuster led by Southern Democrats in the Senate turned out to be the longest filibuster in Senate history. Those who opposed the legislation cited their interpretation of The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Bible to defend legal racial segregation. Fifty nine years later, it seems ludicrous that numerous United States Senators gave this much time and effort defending racism. The first video posted below summarizes the story of their shameful actions as well as some Senators who opposed their efforts and stood up for racial justice. Please take the time to watch the video to get a sense for what it took to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A few days before the anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in the case of 303 Creative LLC vs. Elenis. The court decided in favor of a business in Colorado that refused to design a website for the wedding of a gay couple even though the law in Colorado banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. The majority in the 6-3 decision maintained that the web designer’s freedom of expression based on her religious convictions took priority over such discrimination. Yet LGBTQ people are considered a “protected class” whose civil rights are equal to all others. It seems to me that an individual’s freedom of expression and religious beliefs do not take priority over other people’s civil rights especially when that individual is running a business open to the public. In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor wrote,

“Today is a sad day in American constitutional law and in the lives of LGBT people. The Supreme Court of the United States declares that a particular kind of business, though open to the public, has a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class. The Court does so for the first time in its history,”

She went on to make an explicit connection between this case and the struggles of the modern Civil Rights Movement:

“New forms of inclusion have been met with reactionary exclusion, This is heartbreaking. Sadly, it is also familiar. When the civil rights and women’s rights movements sought equality in public life, some public establishments refused. Some even claimed, based on sincere religious beliefs, constitutional rights to discriminate. The brave Justices who once sat on this Court decisively rejected those claims.”

As a person of Christian faith, I never want my beliefs to justify discrimination or limiting the rights of any people protected by the laws of our nation. The story of the struggle that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 informs the struggle for the rights of LGBTQ people today. I hope that this becomes obvious sooner rather than later.

The second video posted below features the reflections of Jonathan Capehart on this Supreme Court decision. He is not only a respected journalist but also a gay Black man who is directly impacted by the decision. That is why I consider his insights especially valuable.