 Affirmative Action's Origins and Legacies |
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This teaching module provides an in-depth look at affirmative action, delving into its origins and tracing its impact to the present day, featuring a webinar with Nebraska Law faculty Eric Berger, Danielle Jefferis, and Catherine Wilson.
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| De Lima v. Bidwell |
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De Lima v. Bidwell is one of a series of cases decided by the Supreme Court addressing the status of U.S. territories known as the Insular Cases. This case considered whether the newly acquired territory of Puerto Rico was a "foreign country" and to what extent shipping duties applied to imports from Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. De Lima ruled that Puerto Rico was a part of the United States and duties should not be applied to imports. This case was decided on different grounds than that of Downes v. Bidwell, which ruled that unincorporated territories could be treated differently than states and incorporated territories.
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| Dear Colleague Letter |
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This letter, sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, summarizes the Trump administration's position on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). While the letter does not carry the force of law, it states that any institutions of higher education who do not comply with the administration's interpretation of existing nondiscrimination requirements may lose federal funding.
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| Executive Order 10925 - Establishing the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity |
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This executive order by President John F. Kennedy directed government contractors to use affirmative action to ensure people of any "race, creed, color, or national origin" were given equal treatment and opportunity for employment. This executive order also established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
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| Executive Order 11246 - Equal Employment Opportunity |
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This executive order enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson was repealed by a January 2025 executive order from Donald Trump. The original order was written to ensure equal opportunity in government employment and limit discrimination based on race. It required employers to furnish documentation of nondiscriminatory practices upon request.
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| Executive Order 11478 - Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government |
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This executive order from President Richard Nixon ensured the continuation of affirmative action and increased directives to limit discrimination in the workplace. Nixon added that this order intends to prevent discrimination based on sex as well as race.
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| Executive Order 12432 - Minority Business Enterprise Development |
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This executive order from President Ronald Reagan sought to protect minority business owners and provide regulations to prevent discrimination. This was one of a series of executive orders to ensure affirmative action issued by every president across the second half of the twentieth century.
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| Executive Order 14151 - Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing |
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This executive order by President Donald Trump directs the Office of Management and Budget to terminate all mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. It also requires federal agencies to report a list of all employees in DEI positions within 60 days. As a result, these employees were terminated.
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| Executive Order 14173 - Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity |
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This executive order by President Donald Trump takes aim at diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives in private institutions, especially institutions of higher education receiving federal funding. It also revokes several longstanding executive orders related to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.
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| Gonzales v. Williams |
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Gonzales v. Williams is one of a series of cases decided by the Supreme Court addressing the status of U.S. territories known as the Insular Cases. This case determined that while people from Puerto Rico were not citizens of the United States, they were also not "aliens." This case labelled those in unincorporated territories as U.S, nationals instead of citizens.
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| Hernandez v. Texas |
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Hernandez v. Texas showed racial discrimination in all-white juries, reflected in Juan Crow segragation.
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| Jones Act |
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The Jones Act established that all interstate shipping must be conducted on ships that are owned and operated by United States shipping. This act claims to protect national security, but it also makes shipping to U.S. territories and Hawaii more expensive than international shipping.
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| Loving v. Virginia |
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In this landmark civil rights case, the Supreme Court ruled that laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional for violating the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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| Mendez v. Westminster |
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Menedez v. Westminster found educational segregation toward Latino students unconstitutional.
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| Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative |
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This amendment to the Nebraska Constitution banned the use of affirmative action in the "operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting." It was initiated as a ballot measure that was approved in 2008.
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| Nebraska Vagrancy Law (1881) |
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Vagrancy acts passed by the Nebraska state legislature reflected race-neutral legal language that was used to target the poor, people of color, and women.
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| Nebraska Vagrancy Law (1929) |
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Vagrancy acts passed by the Nebraska state legislature reflected race-neutral legal language that was used to target the poor, people of color, and women.
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| Perez v. Sharp |
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In this case, a 4-3 majority of the Supreme Court of California ruled that the state's ban on interracial marriage violated the 14th Amendment. It was the first of any state to strike down an anti-miscegenation law in the U.S, preceding Loving v. Virginia by almost 20 years.
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| Re: DEI Programs Are Lawful Under Federal Civil Rights Laws and Supreme Court Precedent |
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This memorandum from law professors across the United States explains how diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are legally defensible, in spite of the January 21, 2025, Executive Order titled "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity."
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| Roberto Alvarez, et al. v. E. L. Owen, et al. |
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This case was the first successful school desegregation case in the United States, decided fifteen years before Brown v. Board of Education. When the school board in Lemon Grove, California, attempted to build a separate school for students of Mexican origin, the court ruled that the segregation violated state laws which considered people of Mexican descent to be white.
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| Shelby County v. Holder |
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This landmark Supreme Court decision overturned the federal pre-clearance section the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which required jurisdictions to seek approval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for D.C., before making changes to their voting laws. This decision limited the federal government's ability to protect voting rights for all citizens and has since allowed policies such as voter ID laws and the closing polling locations to limit voting rights for certain groups.
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| Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo |
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The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo reset the southern border between Mexico and the United States. Implications of the treaty included issues of citizenship, land, and legal status.
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| Undesirable Aliens Act |
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This act made unlawfully entering the U.S. a crime for the first time. Immigrants who did not cross the border through an official point of entry, where they had to pay a fee and submit to tests, could be charged with a misdemeanor crime, facing fines and up to a year's imprisonment. Returning to the U.S. after deportation was made a felony, punishable by $1,000 in fines and up to two years imprisonment. This law applied to all immigrants entering the U.S., but was intended to restrict immigration from Mexico.
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| Webinar - Affirmative Action's Origins and Legacies |
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In this webinar, UNL Law Faculty Eric Berger, Danielle Jefferis, and Catherine Wilson provide an in-depth look at affirmative action, delving into its origins and tracing its impact to the present day.
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