A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury. Examples of civil rights are freedom of speech, press, and assembly; the right to vote; freedom from involuntary servitude; and the right to equality in public places. Discrimination occurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of their membership in a particular group or class. Statutes have been enacted to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin, and in some instances sexual preference. Civil rights attorneys handle cases involving the rights of individuals to be free from unequal treatment (or discrimination) based on legally-protected characteristics such as race, gender, disability, national origin, age, sexual orientation, and religion. Civil rights cases can arise in a number of settings -- including employment, housing, lending, and education.
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston bordered by Roslindale to the north, the Town of Dedham to the east and south, the Town of Brookline and the City of Newton to the west. Founded in 1630, West Roxbury, Massachusetts was originally part of the town of Roxbury and was mainly used as farmland. West Roxbury seceded from Roxbury in 1851, and was annexed by Boston in 1874. At the time, the town included the neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale. West Roxbury's main thoroughfare is Centre Street, lined with local restaurants and commercial establishments. Today, the neighborhood's tree-lined streets and mostly single family homes give it a suburban feel in an urban setting. Life in the neighborhood centers on political and civic activism as well as local parishes and youth athletic leagues. West Roxbury is home to many of Boston's civil servants. The community boasts a significant proportion of persons of Irish descent as well as a smaller number of more recent Irish immigrants. The Roxbury Latin School, founded in 1645 is located on Saint Theresa Avenue in West Roxbury since 1927. The school's endowment is estimated at $143.8 million, the largest of any boys' school in the United States. West Roxbury is home to District E-5 of the Boston Police Department and two Boston fire stations, Ladder 25 & Engine 30 on Centre Street and Engine 55 on Washington Street. The Needham Branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail network has three stations in West Roxbury (Bellevue, Highland and West Roxbury). Several MBTA bus lines run through and/or terminate in West Roxbury. A large Veterans Affairs hospital is located opposite the Charles River on the VFW Parkway near the Dedham line. This hospital has undergone several expansions over the last twenty years. The neighborhood was home to an experimental transcendentalist Utopia community called Brook Farm, which attracted notable figures like Margaret Fuller and Nathaniel Hawthorne whose 1852 novel A Blithedale Romance, is based on his stay there. . Like its neighboring communities, West Roxburys residential development grew with the construction of the West Roxbury branch of the Boston and Providence Rail Road; the area grew further with the development of electric streetcars.