Final answer:
The Supreme Court extends civil rights primarily by interpreting the Constitution to protect individuals' rights, as seen in historical rulings such as Brown v. Board of Education which ended legal segregation in public schools.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Supreme Court plays a pivotal role in extending civil rights by interpreting the Constitution and laws to protect the rights of individuals and groups. Historically, the Supreme Court has acted to correct systemic and temporary civil rights abuses by ruling on cases brought forward by those who are marginalized or whose rights are being infringed upon. Major civil rights advancements often stem from the Court's willingness to address injustices and reinterpret the Constitution in the light of evolving societal values and norms.
For instance, the right to vote has been expanded through constitutional amendments and Supreme Court decisions. After African Americans were granted the right to vote in 1870, it wasn't until the Civil Rights Movement and subsequent legislation of the 1960s that legal and extralegal barriers were dismantled, leading to effective enfranchisement.
An example of the Supreme Court's influence on civil rights is the decisions made by the Earl Warren Court in the 1950s and 1960s. This Court played an essential role in the Civil Rights Movement, most notably with Brown v. Board of Education, which declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. This represented a turning point in the fight against segregation and a significant expansion of civil rights.