CIVIL RIGHTS Definition & Meaning

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civil rights

[ siv-uhl rahyts ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

plural noun

(often initial capital letters)

rights to personal liberty established by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and certain Congressional acts, especially as applied to an individual or a minority group.
the rights to full legal, social, and economic equality extended to African Americans.

civil rights

plural noun

the personal rights of the individual citizen, in most countries upheld by law, as in the US
modifier of, relating to, or promoting equality in social, economic, and political rights

civil rights

A broad range of privileges and rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and subsequent amendments and laws that guarantee fundamental freedoms to all individuals. These freedoms include the rights of free expression and action ( civil liberties ); the right to enter into contracts , own property, and initiate lawsuits; the rights of due process and equal protection of the laws ; opportunities in education and work; the freedom to live, travel, and use public facilities wherever one chooses; and the right to participate in the democratic political system.

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Notes

Efforts to redress the situation of inequality, such as the civil rights movement and the women's movement , have resulted in legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , in affirmative action , and in the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission .

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of civil rights¹

First recorded in 1715–25

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He shares family stories of growing up in the South at the start of the civil rights movement and dishes celebrity gossip about some of the biggest names in sports and broadcasting.

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This year, “Purpose,” his domestic drama about an illustrious civil rights icon’s dysfunctional family and checkered legacy, received six nominations, including best play.

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The Posse Comitatus Act in the most simplistic of terms eventually led to the rebellion that was the civil rights movement, and subsequent laws that have pushed for equality and equity.

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“When you’ve got a Black family in Los Angeles in the 1960s and it has nothing to do with civil rights, it has nothing to do with oppression.”

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He got his professional start at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a Latino civil rights organization, starting as an intern and eventually getting hired as a staff attorney.

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Related 51�Թ�s

civil rightist Civil Rights Act of 1964

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