{"id":30956,"date":"2022-07-27T15:46:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T20:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/constitution\/amendment14\/annotation05.html"},"modified":"2025-07-24T09:01:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T14:01:49","slug":"annotation05","status":"publish","type":"constitution","link":"https:\/\/constitution.findlaw.com\/amendment14\/annotation05.html","title":{"rendered":"Equal Protection Cases Based on Race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Equal Protection Cases Based on Race<\/h1>\n\n
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\n By Balrina Ahluwalia, Esq.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Laura Temme, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last reviewed\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Landmark Supreme <\/span>Court<\/span> decisions<\/span> have shaped how we interpret the Fourteenth Amendment<\/span>‘s guarantee that states cannot deny equal protection under the law. These cases evolved from initially allowing “separate but equal” racial <\/span>segregation<\/span> in Plessy v. Ferguson<\/span> to establishing higher levels of scrutiny for race-based laws in Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia<\/span>. The Court now requires any racial classification<\/span> to serve a compelling government interest through narrowly tailored means.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after the Civil War, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution<\/a>. Added in 1868, this new amendment included the equal protection clause to protect the civil rights of all people, particularly formerly enslaved African Americans.<\/p>\n

The Fourteenth Amendment was designed to curb racial discrimination<\/a> and prevent the states from denying anyone equal protection under the law. Over time, it has evolved to serve as a broad constitutional foundation for challenging unequal treatment based on race and other protected characteristics.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll explore some of the major U.S. Supreme Court cases that have helped shape this development. We\u2019ll review the Court\u2019s handling of racial segregation and interracial marriage under the equal protection clause. The Court\u2019s affirmative action decisions <\/a>also provide invaluable insight into its treatment of equal protection claims based on race.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the language of the Fourteenth Amendment.<\/p>\n

The Fourteenth Amendment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:<\/p>\n

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the <\/em>privileges or immunities<\/em><\/a> of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws<\/em><\/p>\n

At the time of its enactment, the equal protection clause’s most important purpose was to guard against unequal treatment based on race. Landmark Supreme Court decisions have expanded its interpretation. Today, the equal protection clause serves as a powerful constitutional tool for challenging several types of discrimination<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Brief History<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment at a time of great change in America. The Civil War ended slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment<\/a>. But many southern states quickly passed harsh “Black Codes.” These laws aimed to keep newly freed Black people from gaining full rights. They limited their ability to do things like vote<\/a>, own property, work freely, and access education<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers soon realized that strong federal action was needed to protect the basic rights of former slaves from state governments. So, during this period known as Reconstruction, Congress passed the\u00a0Fourteenth Amendment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The equal protection clause specifically says that no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”<\/p>\n

The architects intended for this powerful language to:<\/p>\n