KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 13, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Protecting people's civil rights and liberties has always been the duty of attorney Mary Kay Green, J.D. With the release of her new book Women of Courage, readers - especially women - are about to witness a revealing look at one of the most important cases in American history: a single mother's fight against pregnancy, sex and race discrimination.
Women of Courage centers on the nationally publicized case of Crystal Chambers v. The Omaha Girls Club, the Omaha World Herald, and the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission. Dealing with serious issues such as sex, pregnancy and race discrimination and the power of the wealthy white board of the club, and a civil rights conspiracy that violated Crystal Chambers civil rights under the l964 Civil Rights Act, the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the 9th & 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. This violation also extended to her right to be free of pregnancy discrimination protected by the l964 Civil Rights Act and its amendment, the l978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Interestingly, the story reveals that the defendant, Omaha Girls Club, violated its own anti-racial discrimination policy when it fired Chambers for simply being single and pregnant. Subsequently, the Omaha World Herald published an editorial supporting the club's unlawful act. Ultimately, this case led to the passage of the 1991 Civil Rights Act, Section 105 (a)(2)(a) banning the use of the business necessity defense in cases where intentional discrimination is alleged.
Filled with intricate details, Women of Courage emphasizes that all children are equal before God and the law, a right recognized by the Supreme Court in several cases. It establishes that single mothers and their non-marital or "illegitimate" children have rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as under the 9th Amendment, the Privacy Amendment. The book also discusses the dilemma of teenage pregnancy and solutions to it. It further establishes that under the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act (an amendment to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights), employers cannot discriminate against single pregnant women or even married pregnant women; and employers cannot discriminate on the basis of race, sex, ethnic heritage or religion under the 1964 Civil Rights Act and its amendments. To order a copy of this highly relevant read, be sure to visit your local bookstore or shop online at Xlibris.com today.
About the Author
Mary Kay Green, J.D., is an attorney who, from her senior year in law school, has handled civil rights cases. She has been licensed to practice law in Nebraska since September 13, 1977, and for most of her years practiced family law and personal injury law as well. Ms. Green was the principal attorney in Crystal Chambers v. Omaha Girls Club et al. featured in this book. She served on the Omaha City Council from June 1977 through May 1981. In addition, Ms. Green has written a screenplay They Let Mothers in Law School? about her three years in law school and is currently working on a book entitled Sundance and Cherokee Moon: A Book about Robert Redford, Movies, Miracles, and Mania. And she is writing a screenplay: Crystal Chambers a New Rosa Parks.
Women of Courage * by Mary Kay Green, J.D.
The Rights of Single Mothers and Their Children
Inspired by Crystal Chambers A New Rosa Parks
Publication Date: October 30, 2007
Trade Paperback; $18.69; 265 pages;
978-1-4257-6138-7 Cloth Hardback; $28.79;
265 pages; 978-1-4257-6165-3
Books can be ordered through Xlibris.com at the "book store" or by calling 888-795-4274, option 2. It is also available online through Amazon under "Mary Kay Green" and Barnes and Noble under "Mary Kay Green, J.D.