The term "civil rights" is often inextricably linked to the struggle for racial equality of Blacks during the 1950s and 1960s. But today, women, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities, Latinos, Asians, American Indians, older people and other marginalized groups are all increasingly protected under the banner of civil rights.

In the broadest sense, civil rights are legal protections against discrimination based on a person's national origin, race, color, religion, disability, sex and familial status. In the United States, civil rights are usually associated with specific rights guaranteed in the Constitution and the 13th and 14th Amendments.

In 1955, Rosa Parks became a symbol of the civil-rights movement when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger and galvanized young Black leaders like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Princeton University professor Dr. Cornel West, three of the Black leaders who have changed the dynamic in America.

After President John F. Kennedy's assassination, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion and national origin in education, employment, public accommodation and facilities. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting practices.

But many decades later, the struggle continues. Although much progress has been made as a result of the civil-rights movement of the 1960s, the same cannot be said for LGBT people. There is currently no federal law protecting individuals from job discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation. This means that at any time, someone can be discriminated against, fired or not hired simply because he/she is or is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. This year, Congress has introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (ENDA), which would finally end workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. After much debate, gender identity has been reinstated in the current version of the bill. Currently, it remains legal to fire or refuse to hire someone for being lesbian, gay or bisexual in 29 states, while transgender workers can be denied or refused jobs in 38 states.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy (DADT), instituted by former President Bill Clinton, became law in 1993. It bans openly lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans from serving in the military. President Barack Obama has vowed to have it repealed but has set no timetable.

Hate crimes against LGBT Americans continue to rise. And while history books will mark Nov. 4, 2008, as the historic day the country elected its first Black president, many LGBT Americans will remember that day as the day they were stripped of their basic human right to marry when Proposition 8 passed in California.

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice enforces federal laws that prohibit discrimination in education, employment, housing, lending, public accommodations, law enforcement, police misconduct and voting. The division also enforces laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, protects the civil rights of people who are institutionalized in certain state or local facilities, and prosecutes crimes that are motivated by a crime victim's race, color or national origin.

In this section, DiversityInc provides the best compilation of useful articles on contemporary civil-rights issues. We will update it as the laws change.