http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/civil-rights Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 01 May 2026 13:30:59 -0400 Fri, 01 May 2026 13:30:59 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1731/newspaper-coverage-of-the-mau-mau-movement-a-constructivist-argument By Esme Trahair - On February 14th, 1965, just one week before he was assassinated, Malcolm X delivered a speech in Detroit. He spoke about his beliefs concerning segregation and civil rights, and made a point of contextualizing the civil rights movement globally. Toward the beginning of the speech, he mentioned the Mau Mau in Kenya, and stated that they had "played a major role in bringing about freedom for Kenya, and not only for Kenya but other African countries," adding that "what [they] did frightened the white man."[1] He was not the only civil rights leader to speak of this movement,[2] and in fact,... Wed, 21 Mar 2018 02:47 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1731/newspaper-coverage-of-the-mau-mau-movement-a-constructivist-argument http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1464/fetal-homicide-laws-the-policing-of-womens-bodies By Chancey B. Herbolsheimer - According to English common law, the destruction of a fetus was not considered homicide. Relying on the “born alive rule,” feticide was not equated with murder unless the fetus was born alive and survived independently of the mother before dying of prenatal injuries.[1] Although misdemeanor liability could be imposed in circumstances in which a defendant’s actions caused the death of the fetus, jurists refused to impose murder charges unless the fetus survived long enough for the cause of death to be clear.[2] Prior to 20th century legislation, U.S. law mirrored this common law... Fri, 21 Oct 2016 09:33 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1464/fetal-homicide-laws-the-policing-of-womens-bodies http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1573/the-american-dream-discourses-of-equality-and-achievability-for-black-americans By Emily Dalgo - What is the meaning of the American Dream for educated black Americans? How do perceptions of the equality and the achievability of the American Dream among educated black Americans correlate with the dominant discourse on the subject? This research project determines the dominant discourses of perceived equality and opportunity on the American Dream for educated black Americans, taking into account the current context and historical context of black Americans. Throughout history, the American Dream has been central to the American value system and has helped to define the essence of American... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1573/the-american-dream-discourses-of-equality-and-achievability-for-black-americans http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/884/the-roving-ambassador-bayard-rustins-quaker-cosmopolitanism-and-the-civil-rights-movement By Sebastian C. Galbo - Just eight months after Gandhi's assassination, Rustin arrived in India to give a series of lectures to pacifist organizations. Between 1947 and 1952, Rustin made several important trips to Africa and India where he met and exchanged ideas with other prominent social reformers, which left an indelible imprint on his strategies of organizing African-American protest. While these highly successful lectures gained valuable political traction for the African-American cause, A. J. Muste feared Rustin was overly invested in global pacifist movements. As director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (... Sun, 06 Apr 2014 09:40 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/884/the-roving-ambassador-bayard-rustins-quaker-cosmopolitanism-and-the-civil-rights-movement http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/882/title-ix-and-the-gender-binary-trajectories-of-equality By Jennifer J. Luther - Prior to 1970, women were severely underrepresented in high school and college math, science, and business courses, and were almost invisible in high school technical courses.[1] Even professional schools barred access to women for all programs but teaching, nursing, social work, and library science through quotas – and even if women did enter male-dominated programs, this exposed them to sexual harassment.[2] The 1970s women’s movement focussed on the problems of restricted access to education, notably in business, medical schools, and law schools, as barriers to equal access to better... Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:37 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/882/title-ix-and-the-gender-binary-trajectories-of-equality http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/793/visual-persuasion-the-medias-use-of-images-in-framing-people-groups By Caitlin O'Donnell - This article compares the media's framing of five groups in response to a societal catalyst that propelled them into the public and media spotlight: Native Americans during the Indian Wars; women during the suffrage movement; African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement; Japanese Americans following the attacks on Pearl Harbor; and Muslim Americans after 9/11. A tipping point forced each group outside the "status quo," leading to pointed and biased coverage, usually in conjunction with dominant prejudices of the era, with the goal of protecting the ruling majority. While the target may have... Mon, 18 Nov 2013 05:29 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/793/visual-persuasion-the-medias-use-of-images-in-framing-people-groups http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/709/diverging-discontent-examining-the-patriot-acts-passage-in-congress-under-the-bush-administration By Alexander E. Hopkins - On October 26, 2001, President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Act, by Congress just six weeks after the attacks with virtually no public debate, greatly-expanded the executive branch’s power to investigate possible domestic terrorism (Cheney, 2005, p. 1717; Chang, 2001). Rather than create new laws, existing laws were strengthened. However, members of Congress were still alarmed at possible civil liberties violations (Cheney, 2005, p. 1717; Seamon & Gardner, 2005, p. 321). Like many war-time Presidents, such as Woodrow... Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/709/diverging-discontent-examining-the-patriot-acts-passage-in-congress-under-the-bush-administration http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/703/a-nation-divided-civil-war-politics-and-emancipation By Joshua A. Jones - The Emancipation Proclamation was arguably the United States’ first step away from hypocrisy and toward true racial equality. However, commentators often obscure its pivotal role in bringing the Civil War to a close by inferring that it was contrived out of benevolence and concern for the civil rights of minorities. These romanticized narratives overlook the position of slavery in the pre-Civil War economy and the use of segregation as a social control mechanism. This paper examines the content of various speeches given by the “Great Emancipator” Abraham Lincoln during his campaign... Fri, 28 Sep 2012 09:54 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/703/a-nation-divided-civil-war-politics-and-emancipation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/584/remembering-tuskegee-comparing-two-approaches-to-studying-the-tuskegee-syphilis-experiment By Sujay Kulshrestha - History selectively chooses which events in our past gain notoriety in the present. This selectivity has some basis in the events’ significance, but it is also related to our natural curiosity about the past. Unfortunately, for many, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments remain largely unknown among the general population. Rumors abound that the United States knowingly gave participants syphilis, that the study was an attempt at racial elimination, that the conductors of the study may have had illicit relations with the participants, and many other wildly imagined scenarios. In studying the... Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:21 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/584/remembering-tuskegee-comparing-two-approaches-to-studying-the-tuskegee-syphilis-experiment http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/231/the-x-factor-how-malcolm-x-internationalized-the-civil-rights-movement By Jed S. Serrano - “You don’t do any singing, you’re too busy swinging”[i]. Thus spoke Malcolm X. He promulgated the new paradigm of anti-nonviolence[ii] he helped popularize during the 1960s. It had been around a decade since Brown v. Board of Education overturned the “separate but equal” laws; yet, the progress of desegregation had been stagnant. This was especially true for X who, goaded by impatience and indignation, became the symbolic antithesis of Martin Luther King and his nonviolent strategy. He called for “Black Power!” or Black Nationalism, not just as an... Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:01 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/231/the-x-factor-how-malcolm-x-internationalized-the-civil-rights-movement