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Any attempt to tell the story of federal involvement in the dismantling of America's formalized systems of racial discrimination that positions the judiciary as the first branch of government to engage in this effort, identifies the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision as the beginning of the civil rights movement, or fails to recognize the centrality of President Harry S. Truman in the narrative of racial equality is in error. Driven by an ever-increasing recognition of the injustices of racial discrimination, Truman offered a comprehensive civil rights program to Congress on 2 February 1948. When his legislative proposals were rejected, he employed a unilateral policy of action despite grave political risk, and freed subsequent presidential nominees of the Democratic party from its southern segregationist bloc by winning re-election despite the States' Rights challenge of Strom Thurmond. The remainder of his administration witnessed a multi-faceted attack on prejudice involving vetoes, executive orders, public pronouncements, changes in enforcement policies, and amicus briefs submitted by his Department of Justice. The southern Democrat responsible for actualizing the promises of America's ideals of freedom for its black citizens is Harry Truman, not Lyndon Johnson. The shift in white American opinion necessary for the passage of the civil rights acts of the 1960s was generated by the cumulative effects of actions taken between 1945 and 1953. / Master of Arts

In this thesis I argue that First Amendment free speech and exercise claims do not grant religious business owners the ability to bypass statutes that prohibit discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity grounds in areas of public accommodations. My arguments focus on the constitutional claims made in the case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Furthermore, I determine that Congress can rely on both the Commerce Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment to pass legislation that prohibits discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity grounds in areas of public accommodations. I argue that despite the Court’s holding in the Civil Rights Cases, Congress can regulate discrimination by private actors, not just state sponsored discrimination, through the Fourteenth Amendment. I analyze the potential avenues religious business owners can use to undermine both state and federal antidiscrimination statutes and have their discriminatory practices legally sanctioned. I conclude by arguing that religious exemptions do not belong in antidiscrimination statutes.

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July 26, 2010 marked the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act; the greater implications of comprehensive disability policy are yet to be seen. Nearly twenty percent of Americans have a disability. With such a significant portion of Americans affected, is equal access to employment opportunities, transportation, and communication available? The history of disability in America tells a story of isolation and institutionalization. The civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s opened up an opportunity for America’s most versatile minority group. A survey conducted by the International Center for the Disabled in 1986 showed sixty-six percent of non-institutionalized disabled individuals wished to be employed but did not have access to a job. The ADA attempts to knock down the societal barriers facing these individuals. Two decades later, the efficacy of the ADA is under fire. A series of legal battles during the 1990’s narrowed the scope of ADA regulations. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 attempts to “restore the intent and protections” of the original bill but does it succeed? Disability rights experts and disabled citizens agree: there is much work to be done.

Thesis (M.S. in Intl. Aff.)--Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. Directed by Sylvia Maier. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-85).

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

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