The Supreme Court prohibited racial gerrymandering in 1993, holding that the practice violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
The US Supreme Court believes "political questions" are appropriate issues for Congress, not the judiciary; however, they have ruled on certain cases regarding political redistricting (Baker v. Carr, (1962)) and racial gerrymandering (Shaw v. Reno, (1993), Miller v. Johnson, (1995)), where the legislature failed to address, or improperly addressed, issues that resulted in constitutional rights violations.
Any law that attempts a racial or ethnic classification is subject to the strict scrutiny test. This is to determine that there will be no Constitutional rights violated in the process of pursuing the interest.
Strict scrutiny
It declared that all racial groups were protected equally by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Supreme Court has allowed the use of quotas under certain circumstances. For example, they ruled that racial quotas may continue at the University of Michigan.
Affirmative Racial Gerrymandering
Grandfather clauses white primaries literacy tests gerrymandering
The important 1954 Supreme Court ruling that banned racial segregation in public schools was Brown v. Board of Education. The Court unanimously held that racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This landmark decision challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
The Supreme Court at first said that it was the states' business and the federal government could not interfere. Later on, the Supreme Court made racial segregation illegal.
Five instruments used historically to suppress voting among racial minorities include literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, intimidation tactics, and gerrymandering. These methods were used to disenfranchise minority voters and limit their political power.
some racial groups are superior to others
apartheid
The US Supreme Court believes "political questions" are appropriate issues for Congress, not the judiciary; however, they have ruled on certain cases regarding political redistricting (Baker v. Carr, (1962)) and racial gerrymandering (Shaw v. Reno, (1993), Miller v. Johnson, (1995)), where the legislature failed to address, or improperly addressed, issues that resulted in constitutional rights violations.
Segregation
In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, Plessy's legal team argued that Louisiana's Separate Car Act, which required racial segregation on trains, violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. They contended that the law denied Plessy equal protection under the law, as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. However, the Supreme Court rejected this argument and upheld the constitutionality of "separate but equal" racial segregation.
Any law that attempts a racial or ethnic classification is subject to the strict scrutiny test. This is to determine that there will be no Constitutional rights violated in the process of pursuing the interest.
Racial discrimination that results from practice rather than law is called de facto discrimination. De facto means in fact or in effect.