Jim Crow laws aren't something only from bygone eras.  Many of the instructors you have as teachers experienced Jim Crow laws first hand. Some might argue that gay people today experience much of the same discrimination behind the segregationist eras of the past.  In many cases, gay people are not allowed official government recognition as equals under the law. At least one leading Congressional figure, Congressman John Lewis, has spoken passionately connecting the Civil Rights movement with the Gay Rights movement.

 

 

A link below to a discussion of Stanford Professor Pam Karlan's observations made just before a recent ruling affirming gay rights is illuminating.  These comments were made October 9, 2012 during a visit to Palo Alto High School.