Volume 4 No 1 - Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

2012] NEVER AGAIN IN THE WORKPLACE: TITLE VII 75
scrutiny actually opens the door to undermining the legislative policy
behind the Civil Rights Act.
I. THE EVOLUTION OF TITLE VII
The 1950s and 1960s were a time of great social movement and
change. Civil rights groups and individual activists came out in vociferous
support of greater equality and freedom for blacks, 7 women, 8 and other
minority groups. After much political pressure, legislative recognition was
finally afforded to such groups through the passage of the Civil Rights Acts
of 1957 9 and 1960, 10 but the standards were generally weak, focusing primarily
on the right to vote. 11
Protests became increasingly violent and disruptive, organized through
movements such as the Birmingham Campaign in the spring of 1963. 12
Finally, on June 19 of that year, President John F. Kennedy issued a statement
to Congress on the civil rights issues, with a focus on the “fair and
full” employment of blacks. 13 This included eliminating racial discrimination
in employment, creating more job opportunities, and raising the level
of skills through better education. 14 After a series of legislative bills, pro-
7. Sit-ins, boycotts, and non-violent protests, led by such figures as Martin
Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and W. E. B. Du Bois, fought for racial
dignity, economic and political equality, and freedom from oppression. The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP) was also
making large strides in political lobbying. See Michael Weber and Michael Mac-
Carthy-Morrogh, Causes and Consequences of the African American Civil Rights
Movement (Evans Publishing Group, 2005).
8. In 1963, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique (New York: Norton,
1963), in which she questioned the role of women in public and private life,
thereby launching the rise of feminism.
9. 71 Stat. 634 (September 9, 1957).
10. 74 Stat. 86 (May 6, 1960).
11. 71 Stat. 634-638 (September 9, 1957) also gave judges the authority to protect
voting rights through the independent investigation of claims depriving or
interfering with the ability of certain citizens to vote.
12. In Birmingham, Alabama, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC) rallied a campaign of organized protest against white civic authorities. To
dissuade involvement, the police used dogs and high-pressure water hoses to control
the demonstrators. These demonstrations quickly gained national media coverage
as intensified outbreaks of dissolution. See n. 7.
13. Adam W. Aston, “Fair and Full Employment: Forty Years of Unfulfilled
Promises,” 15 Wash. U.J.L. & Policy 285 (citing John F. Kennedy, Special Message
to the Congress on Civil Rights and Job Opportunities, Pub. Papers 483, 488
(June 19, 1963).
14. Ibid.