HIDDEN HISTORY: HOW THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866 LIVES IN OUR LAWS TODAY

Appreciation of the long journey of American civil rights law is vital to understanding how our nation's aspirations of liberty and freedom have evolved. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which remains a cornerstone of human rights enforcement.

Noted civil rights attorney Avery Friedman says the 1866 act continues to affect our rights to housing, jobs and access to public accommodations.

Mr. Friedman has been CNN's weekend legal analyst since 2001 and has lectured at more than three dozen law schools including Stanford; Duke; the University of California, Berkeley; Texas and Michigan. He serves as visiting distinguished adjunct professor in constitutional law at Ursuline College in northeast Ohio. He was inducted into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2010.

Mr. Friedman discusses the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and its importance in ensuring fairness and equal opportunity in American life.