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.
Providence Forge is an unincorporated community in New Kent County, Virginia, United States. It was one of the earliest settlements in the county (itself formed by 1654) and the site of a colonial iron forge that was destroyed by British General Banastre Tarleton during the American Revolutionary War. Nearby, the Chickahominy River separates New Kent from Charles City County. U.S. Route 60 and State Route 155 pass through Providence Forge. The Colonial Downs horse-racing facility is located nearby adjacent to the Providence Forge exit of Interstate 64. A station on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was located at Providence Forge in 1881 during construction of the railroad's new Peninsula Subdivision, which was built primarily to facilitate transportation of West Virginia bituminous coal to the newly created city of Newport News. There, on the harbor of Hampton Roads, coal piers were built to load colliers for worldwide export shipment. . The C&O's Peninsula Extension was good news for the farmers and merchants of the Virginia Peninsula, and they generally welcomed the railroad. Providence Forge was a stop for passengers until about 1931 and for freight until at least the late 1960s, according to the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society. The structure was dismantled sometime in 2006. The only similar structure, at Lee Hall, has been preserved and efforts were underway in 2008 to relocate it slightly away from the right-of-way and open it as a museum.