Civil Rights. Since its earliest days, the FBI has helped protect the civil rights of the American people. A dozen of its first 34 special agents, for example, were experts in peonageâthe modern-day equivalent of slave labor.
Martha Griffiths and the Equal Rights Amendment. Martha Griffiths (D-MI) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955-1974. She was the first woman to serve on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means and was instrumental in getting the prohibition of sex discrimination added to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Griffiths is also known for resurrecting the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA was a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guaranteed equal rights under the law for Americans regardless of their sex. The ERA was first drafted in 1923 by suffragist Alice Paul.
An amendment to the United States Constitution that guarantees equal protection of the law and rights of citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the USA, including former slaves.