I disagree.
According to Black’s Law Dictionary (p. 246), Civil Rights = Civil Liberties: Personal, natural rights guaranteed by Constitution; e.g. freedom of speech, press, freedom from discrimination.... Constitutionally, they are restraints on government.
Gunner
I do not have Black's Law Dictionary--and my Law Dictionary uses an even more confused definition than the one you quoted, although it does not attempt to equate Civil Rights with liberty. But consider your quote, above. "Freedom from discrimination" is hardly a natural right; nor is it, in any rational sense, equatable with freedom of speech. In the one case, you are claiming a right, as a result of legislation, that purports to free you from other people's exercise of their free choice; in the other, the right is simply to express yourself. The first is a guarantee against the effects of an adverse opinion of others; and, as such is more privilege than "right" in the classic sense associated with liberty. The second is an acceptance of the right to voice one's opinion.
Moreover, the anti-discrimination laws are not restraints on Government, but extensions of its authority into the realm of private decision making.
William Flax