Civil rights and civil liberties are both guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, but they’re not the same thing. The difference between civil liberties and civil rights is that, while both are guaranteed to every citizen by the Bill of Rights, civil liberties protect citizens from government interference, and civil rights protect citizens from discrimination by other citizens. You have to understand that civil liberties are negative rights, meaning that the government cannot take them away; civil rights are positive rights, meaning that the government must take active steps to protect them. Civil liberties are things like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to a fair trial. These are things every citizen should have access to regardless of their circumstances or background.
Civil rights include the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law, and the right to public education. They are things that were hard-won by social activists who fought for them so that everyone could have them—not just certain groups of people who were discriminated against before then. Also, they are not enshrined in the Constitution and refer to specific legal protections against discrimination (such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an organization that defends civil liberties. The NAACP is an organization that fights for civil rights. Civil liberties are often thought of as individual rights that everyone should have; civil rights are usually thought of as group rights that marginalized groups have historically been denied access to by society at large.
What is The Complementary Color of Purple?
Updated: June 09, 2023
The complementary color of purple is yellow.
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