Civil Rights

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Session Type: Section Programs

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel

Room: Maryland C

Floor: Lobby Level

Traditionally disadvantaged groups continue to face systemic inequality caused by racism, sexism, poverty, and other forms of exclusion. Nonetheless, powerful groups often view themselves as socially disadvantaged. Studies, for example, find that people who are white believe that they are more likely than people of color to suffer racial discrimination. Also, the #MeToo movement has caused a backlash from men who view activism on sexual assault and harassment as imperiling them as a class. The assertion of disadvantaged status by members of dominant classes has significant implications for legal and political discussions of inequality and social justice. The panelists will explore these implications by examining how legal doctrines and norms facilitate and encourage claims of exclusion by privileged classes. Panelists will consider the subject in a variety of civil rights and social justice contexts.