Asap why was the inclusion of the equal protection clause in the fourteenth amendment so important for civil rights during reconstruction?

I believe the answer is B judging from the definition of the 14th amendment

The correct option is B

Explanation:

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States ('XIV Amendment') is one of the post-Civil War amendments, and includes, among others, the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. It was proposed on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868.

The amendment provides a broad definition of national citizenship, which overrides the decision of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), who had excluded slaves and their descendants, from possessing constitutional rights. It requires states to provide equal protection before the law to all persons (not just citizens) within their jurisdictions. The importance of the Fourteenth Amendment was exemplified when it was interpreted to prohibit racial segregation in public schools in the Brown v. Case. Board of Education.

The other two post-war amendments are the Thirteenth Amendment (prohibiting slavery) and the Fifteenth Amendment (it prohibits qualifications regarding the vote determined by race). According to Supreme Court Justice Noah Swayne, "constructed with justice, one could say of these amendments that they rise to the dignity of a new Magna Carta."

affirmative action refers to the policies that take gender, race, or ethnicity into account in order to promote equal opportunity.

employers subject to title vii are prohibited from taking race or sex into account in any employment decisions. aa is a penalty for having any job group substantially statistically "underutilized" in any race or either sex. the employer must take steps to eliminate the underutilization, then stop, ending its aa efforts