February 19, 2026 - By Fred Bates
Federal judges view of civil rights today is the real Jim Crow 2.0
Federal courts played a pivotal role in eliminating discrimination and racism during and after the Jim Crow era. The Jim Crow era ended with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Probably, the best known of the federal court cases dealing with civil rights is Brown v. Board of Education decided in 1954. Brown v. Board of Education found that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. It overturned the "separate but equal doctrine" of Plessy v. Ferguson handed down in 1896. Subsequent to the Brown case, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, federal courts have handed down many other decisions eliminating discriminatory practices in voting, housing, education, transportation, employment, healthcare and other segments of society. This points out how important federal courts were to eliminating discrimination and racism against blacks and other marginalized citizens.
My opinion that federal judges today view civil rights in the same way as segregationists during Jim Crow is based on my litigation experience with the US District Court in San Jose, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the US Supreme Court. My opinion is also formed based on my observation of other civil rights cases decided by federal judges. The federal courts' disdain for civil rights cases is unmistakable. After the commendable efforts of the federal courts to eliminate racism and discrimination beginning with Brown v. Board of Education and continuing through perhaps the early 2000's, they have taken a dim view of individual civil rights cases, particularly those filed by pro se (self-represented) litigants.
My litigation experience with the US District Court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court is documented extensively in a report that I submitted to the Supreme Court, Congress, and the Department of Justice. My litigation experience began with a lawsuit I filed against the City of San Jose in 2006 for discrimination based on my disability and race. I'm black/African American. The report shows with clarity that the discrimination I suffered at the hands of San Jose city officials was malicious, retaliatory, and was meant to cause me financial loss and extreme emotional pain and suffering. These City officials treated me with a total lack of respect and dignity that showed no sensitivity for my experiences as a black person that lived in the South during Jim Crow. It is one of the most flagrant cases of civil rights violations and bigotry imaginable because San Jose city officials admitted during litigation that they violated California law and city policy. Yet the US District Court in San Jose and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals conspired with the City to obstruct justice in order to cover up the City's racist decision to violate my civil rights. Please click on the website below to read the report and other documents that are proof that many of our federal judges have absolutely no regard for civil rights just as segregationists had no regard for the civil rights of blacks in the South during Jim Crow.
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