The Equality Paradise: Paradoxes of the Law’s Power to Advance Equality

This paper will compare the history of two of the three major civil rights movements in the United States, comparing the victories and defeats, and their results. The movement for Black civil rights and for women's rights followed essentially the same pattern and used similar strategies. The gay and lesbian civil rights movement, on the other hand, followed some of the same strategies but has differed in significant ways. Where each movement has attained success and where each has failed demonstrates the limits of American legal structures to effectuate social change.