1. Segregation in the Post
World War II Period
“Northern blacks were forced to live in
a white man's democracy, and while not
legally enslaved, subject to definition by
their race.” MLK Jr.

2. A Nation Divided: Segregation in
American Life
Segregation in Public Accommodations
(supported by 1896 Supreme Court
Ruling Plessy v. Ferguson)
1. Segregation in Schools (Jim Crow Laws
for schools)
2. Segregation in Housing
-de facto segregation: established by
practice and custom rather than law
example: restrictive covenant
(agreement among neighbors not to sell
the African-Americans)
-du jure segregation: segregation by law
example: racial zoning (defined where
the races could live)

3. A Nation Divided: Segregation in
American Life
3. Segregation in Marriage (outlawed
white and black marriage)
4. Segregation of the Workplace
-A. Phillip Randolph organized a union
(Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car
Porters) which successful lobbied for
better working conditions and wages in
defense industries
5. Segregation in Politics (disenfranchised
African-Americans or denied them the
vote)
-white primaries: primary elections in
which only whites could vote
-gerrymandering: practice of redrawing
a voting district to minimize the black
vote

4. Small Steps Toward Equality:
Breaking the Color Line in Sports
-Jackie Robinson would become one of
the greatest baseball players in MLB
history, but before 1945 he was
confined to only the Negro Leagues
-After he was hired by the Brooklyn
Dodgers in 1945 and then played in
1947, he became the first black major
league baseball player
Desegregation of the Armed Forces
-Executive Order 9981 by President
Truman ended segregation in the
military

5. Small Steps Toward Equality:
Civil Rights Organizations
Challenge Discrimination
-CORE (Congress of Racial
Equality) founded in 1942 and
was committed to nonviolent
direct action
-National Urban League helped
blacks who migrated north in
the early 1900s
-NAACP (National Association
for the Advancement of
Colored People) oldest of the
organizations and created The
Legal Defense and Educational
Fund to confront segregation

6. The Courts Begin to Dismantle
Segregation:
In the 1930s and 1940s, the Supreme Court
began to strike down Jim Crow laws.
1. In 1935, the Court ordered the University of
Maryland to admit a black student
2. The Court ruled that white primaries were
unconstitutional and barred segregation on
interstate transport
3. In 1948 (Shelley v. Kraemer) the Court ruled
that states could not enforce restrictive
covenant
4. In 1950, the Court handed down strong
rulings against discrimination in education
-Sweatt v. Painter: UT Law School rejected
Hemon Sweatt to their white law center
-Brown v. Board of Education overturned
the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision and
outlawed segregation

7. A Landmark Ruling:
The Brown v. Board of Education lawsuit
was actually a set of cases from Kansas,
South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and
Washington D.C. that had moved up the
court system that same year (1954)
• the case was a class-action lawsuit (filed
by people on behalf of themselves and
a larger group)
• The NAACP lead attorney, Thurgood
Marshall, argued the case
• He supplied evidence how segregation
harmed African-American children
• The most famous piece of evidence was
the “doll test”

8. The Warren Court
• During the proceedings
(1 and a half years), a
new chief justice was
appointed to the Court
(Earl Warren)
• The Warren Court
became known for its
activism on civil rights
and free speech