Summary
Major events in desegregation during the U.S. civil rights movement:
Who: President Harry S. Truman
What: Ordered desegregation of the U.S. armed forces.
Significance: First federal action challenging racial segregation; set a precedent for later civil rights reforms.
Who: U.S. Supreme Court
What: Declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
Significance: Overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and became a legal foundation for desegregation.
Where: Little Rock, Arkansas
What: Nine African American students were integrated into Central High School amid violent opposition.
Who: Federal troops sent by President Eisenhower to enforce desegregation.
Significance: Highlighted the need for federal enforcement of civil rights.
Who: Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson
What: Prohibited discrimination in public places, schools, employment, and voting.
Significance: Legally ended segregation in public facilities and strengthened federal power to enforce civil rights.
Who: President Lyndon B. Johnson
What: Eliminated racial discrimination in voting, especially in the South.
Significance: Crucial step in dismantling institutional racism and empowering African Americans politically.
Who: President Lyndon B. Johnson
What: Prohibited housing discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin.
Significance: Addressed segregation in neighbourhoods and housing markets.
Other Important Notes:
Sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and marches in the 1960s pressured local and federal authorities to enforce desegregation.
Schools, public transport, restaurants, and other facilities became gradually integrated across the U.S. due to these combined legal and social efforts.