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Volume 2 Number 4
1870 CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTE APPLIES TO ARABS AND JEWS
The Supreme Court on May 18, 1987 ruled unanimously in two cases that an 1870 civil rights law (42 U.S.C. sec. 1981) prohibiting racial discrimination in the making of private and public contracts applies to discrimination based upon one's ancestry or ethnicity as well as to discrimination based upon race. The Court reasoned:
Based on the history of sec. 1981, we have little trouble in concluding that Congress intended to protect from discrimination identifiable classes of persons who are subjected to intentional discrimination solely because of their ancestry or ethnic characteristics. Such discrimination is racial discrimination that Congress intended sec. 1981 to forbid, whether or not it would be classified as racial in terms of modern scientific theory.
A claim of racial discrimination was made under sec. 1981 by an Arab American in the first case (Saint Francis College v. Majid Ghaidan Al-Khazraji ____U.S.____, 55 LW 4626 (May 18, 1987)); and by Jewish Americans in the second case, (Shaare Tefila Congregation v. John William Cobb, ____U.S.____, 55 LW 4629 (May 18, 1987). The Saint Francis case was brought by an American citizen, born in Iraq, who alleged that he, was denied tenure at St. Francis College because of his Arabian ancestry. He filed suit pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 1870 law. The District Court ruled the Title VII claim was not timely, and that sec. 1981 did not "reach claims of discrimination based on Arabian Ancestry." The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case for consideration on the merits of the case. The Supreme Court affirmed.
The Shaare Tefila case was brought by members of the synagogue after the building was sprayed with red and black paint and with large anti-Semitic slogans, phrases and symbols. The District Court dismissed the case and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed the decision and remanded it for further proceedings.
The unanimous Supreme Court decision was based on the Justices' reasoning "that all those who might be deemed Caucasians today" were not thought to be of the same race when see. 1981 became law in the 19th Century:
Encyclopedias of the 19th century... described race in terms of ethnic groups... Encyclopedia Americana in 1858, for example, referred to various races such as Finns.... gypsies,... Basques,... and Hebrews.
Further, an examination of the legislative history of sec. 1981 showed that the congressional debates were "replete with references to the Scandinavian races,... as well as the Chinese,... Latin,... Spanish,... and Anglo-Saxon races."
Richard Seymour, Director, Employment Discrimination Project of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, stated that the Court's decision is an important one because sec. 1981 allows for compensatory and punitive damages not available under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and covers smaller employers while Title VII exempts employers with fewer than 15 employees. Further, the 1870 statute reaches non-employees such as partners in law or accounting firms or individuals competing for partnership from outside the firm. Mr. Seymour indicated that he did not expect a substantial increase in national origin discrimination cases as the dimensions of the problem are so different from racial discrimination, and he suggested that expansion of coverage to ethnic groups may increase the public's support for civil rights laws.
  
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