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.
Bentonia is a town in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 500 at the 2000 census. Some blues scholars maintain that there is a "Bentonia School" of blues singing and guitar-playing, and that "Bentonia-style" is a distinct style of Delta Blues, but Bentonia lies outside the Mississippi Delta proper. The "Bentonia School," "Bentonia-style" or "Bentonia Blues" is more accurately described as the unique, haunting, Country Blues style that originated in and immediately around the small town of Bentonia, Mississippi. The annual Bentonia Blues Festival is held the third Saturday of June in downtown Bentonia. The festival's Blues Stage is always set up in front of the world-famous Blue Front Cafe, which is still operated by proprietor Jimmy "Duck" Holmes who, as a young man, largely learned the local style from Bentonia Blues master Jack Owens.