Events - Month View

6pm Dinner
7pm Annual Meeting
Registration is needed only if you plan to attend dinner.
The annual meeting is when all members can help plan for the upcoming fiscal year. We will also honor its latest 50-year member Nita Thomason.

#OnThisDay in 1954, the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) extended constitutional rights to Mexican Americans in the landmark civil rights case Hernandez v. Texas.

Learn more: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/hernandez-v-texas-spotlight-050115

#OnThisDay in 1882 Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The 1882 Act was the first US history to place broad restrictions on immigration.

Timeline:

1882 - Arthur signs Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Prevents Chinese nationals from eligibility for US citizenship (scheduled to last 10 yrs)

1892 - Harrison signs the Geary Act
Renews Chinese Exclusion act of 1882 (extends for 10 additional years and in 1902 indefinitely extended)

1943 - Roosevelt signs the Magnuson Act
Repeals the Chinese Exclusion Act leaving a yearly limit of 105 Chinese and gives foreign-born Chinese the right to seek naturalization

1965 - Johnson signs Hart-Celler Act
Eliminates policy of limiting immigration based on national origin

Resources:

National Archive Chinese Americans: https://www.archives.gov/research/chinese-americans/guide

Chinese Exclusion History: https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/APA/Historical-Essays/Exclusion-and-Empire/First-Arrivals/

Chinese Exclusion Act: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/chinese-immigration

Congress‘ Apology for Chinese Exclusion: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2012-06-18/html/CREC-2012-06-18-pt1-PgH3715-2.htm

Video: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chinese-exclusion-act/

#OnThisDay, Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1960, which served to eliminate loopholes left by the CRA of 1957. It established federal inspection of voter-registration polls and addressed discriminatory laws and practices in the segregated South that disenfranchised blacks and Hispanics. #CivilRights #VotingRights


Timeline:

-- 1866 Johnson vetos CRA of 1866, but veto is overridden by Congress (define citizenship and guaranteed citizens equal protection)
-- 1875 Grant signs CRA of 1875 (guaranteed African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations, public transportation, and prohibited their exclusion from jury service)
-- 1883 SCOTUS rules 7-1 that CRA of 1875 is unconstitutional
-- 1957 Eisenhower signs CRA of 1957 (forms the Civil Rights Commission)
-- 1960 Eisenhower signs CRA of 1960 (guaranteed qualified voters the right to register to vote
-- 1964 Johnson signs CRA of 1964 (prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and employment)
-- 1968 Johnson signs CRA of 1968 (guaranteed equal housing opportunities)
-- 1991 Bush signs the CRA of 1991 (expanded the rights of women and disabled persons)

Resources:
--Civil Rights Digital Library: http://crdl.usg.edu/collections/eisenhowercivilrightsfiles

--Eisenhower Library: https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/subject-guides/pdf/civil-rights-guide-to-studies.pdf

-- Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/legal-events-timeline.html

#OnThisDay, the Texas Equal Rights Association (TERA), the first statewide female suffrage organization, was founded in the Grand Windsor in Dallas on May 10, 1893. The TERA was committed to securing voting and political rights for women on the same terms as men, including the right to hold political office and serve on juries.

Learn more: https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/vit02
#EqualRights #CivilRights #VotingRights

#OnThisDay in 1954, the Supreme Court of the US ruled in a unanimous decision that school segregation violated the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the 14th Amendment.
Brown v. Board of Education was a consolidation of five cases. The ruling effectively ending racial segregation in public schools. Many schools, however, remained segregated.
Learn more:

-- Civil Rights Digital Library: http://crdl.usg.edu/events/brown_vs_boe

-- US Courts: https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment

-- Library of Congress https://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep347/usrep347483/usrep347483.pdf

-- Video: https://www.loc.gov/item/mbrs01856600/

-- Image: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-brown.html

#OnThisDay in 1896, the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) ruled 7-1 that segregation was legal and constitutional as long as "facilities were equal"—the famous "separate but equal" segregation policy.

The Plessy v. Ferguson decision provided legal justification for segregation until it was overruled by Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954.

Resources:
Library of Congress: Plessy v. Ferguson: https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/plessy.html
Library of Congress: Brown v. Board of Education: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-brown.html

#OnThisDay in 1993 Clinton signed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (also referred to as the Motor Voter Act). The bill advanced voting rights, including (but not limited to) requiring states to offer voter registration opportunities to eligible persons during driver’s license renewal.

Timeline:

1990 - LWV convenes a symposium to examine the role of negative campaigning in the decline in voter participation. The symposium leads to a comprehensive effort to return the voter to the center of the election process. LWV works with a coalition of partners to support legislation reforming voter registration.

1992 - Congress passes the NVRA of 1992

1992 - Bush vetoes the bill

1992 - Congress fails to override the veto

1993 - Congress passes the NVRA of 1993

1993 - Clinton signs the bill into law

Resources:

-- LWV 2018-2020 Impact report: https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/LWV%202018-20%20Impact%20on%20Issues.pdf#page=15

-- LWV Celebrates NVRA 27 Anniversary: https://www.lwv.org/blog/honoring-27th-anniversary-national-voter-registration-act

-- Bush‘s comments regarding NVRA of 1992: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/message-the-senate-returning-without-approval-the-national-voter-registration-act-1992

-- Clinton‘s comment regarding NVRA of 1993: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-signing-the-national-voter-registration-act-1993

-- US Justice Department: https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-national-voter-registration-act

On May 24, Coolidge signed the Immigration Act of 1924 (also referred to as the Johnson-Reed Act), which implemented a national quota system that limited the number of immigrants allowed into the US, and it excluded immigrants from Asia.


Timeline:

1924 - Coolidge signs Johnson-Reed Act
Prevents immigration from Asia and establishes a quotas system

1952 - Truman vetoes McCarran-Walter Act (veto overridden by Congress)
Eliminates Asian exclusion and establishes a preference system for desirable ethnic groups

1965 - Johnson signs Hart-Celler Act
Eliminates policy of limiting immigration based on national origin


Note: See https://immigrationhistory.org/timeline for a description of immigration laws before 1924


Resources:

Johnson-Reed Act: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act

McCarran-Walter Act: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/immigration-act

Hart-Celler Act: https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1951-2000/Immigration-and-Nationality-Act-of-1965

Coolidge’s Comments regarding Immigration: https://www.coolidgefoundation.org/blog/were-all-in-the-same-boat-now-coolidge-on-immigration

Truman’s Veto Comments: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/public/Immigration_TrumanVeto.pdf

Johnson’s INA Signing Comments:http://www.lbjlibrary.org/lyndon-baines-johnson/timeline/lbj-on-immigration


Images:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gQD4VFtai7I0K47-d3F58Ffp9wn0fNzh

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bfzS8eAMFA89LTE_gU3VkTZyxH5qV9Y1