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California's Anti-Discrimination Legislation, Proposition 14, And The Constitutional Protection Of Minority Rights: The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The California Fair Employment And Housing Act, David B. Oppenheimer

Golden Gate University Law Review

Fifty years ago, in 1959, the State of California outlawed racial discrimination in employment. But it took the California Legislature four more years to prohibit racial discrimination in private housing, and the immediate response was a successful campaign by the real-estate industry to repeal the law through a voter initiative. This essay tells the story of that campaign and the courageous judicial decisions that nullified the initiative.