civil rights

plural noun

: rights that citizens are guaranteed by their government through legislation or other government action to ensure equal opportunities (as for employment, education, housing, or voting) and equal protection under the law regardless of personal characteristics such as race, religion, or sex

especially : the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress

Note: The 13th Amendment (ratified 1865) abolished slavery and the 14th Amendment (ratified 1868) granted citizenship and equal rights to all people born or naturalized in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people and African Americans generally. The 15th Amendment (ratified 1870) guaranteed the right to vote regardless of color or former enslavement.

compare civil liberty see also civil rights movement

Examples of civil rights in a Sentence

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Meanwhile, the legislation to eliminate the department, filed in December by Sen. Mike Rounds, would simply shift core functions (like the student loan portfolio, data collection, or civil rights enforcement) to other agencies. —

Frederick Hess, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025 Among them were civil rights leaders and legends like Rosa Parks, and celebrities from Jackie Robinson to James Baldwin to Paul Newman. —

Lara Downes, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025 The annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, held this year on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, celebrates Dr. King’s legacy, including his contributions to the civil rights movement and his fight for racial equality. —

Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 15 Jan. 2025 Since then, farmers, labor unions and civil rights groups have been fighting over the rules protecting American labor under the H-2 visa, which Congress established on behalf of farmers and other employers in 1952 – generally replacing the Bracero program. —

Gabrielle Clark, The Conversation, 14 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for civil rights