Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy

With its ruling in the case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled against racial segregation in public schools. This is considered one of the most important and consequential decisions in the history of the Supreme Court. It is believed to be such because its legal precedents helped bring about the end of racial segregation in the United States altogether. Also, it brought about some of the most shocking events and images in the history of civil rights activism, as angry white mobs tried to prevent Black children from entering a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a law passed by the United States Congress outlawing discrimination based on race, skin color, religion, and national origin in public and educational accommodations, voter registration, and employment. It was originally backed by President John F. Kennedy, but after Kennedy’s assassination it was not passed until the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Founded in 1942 in Chicago, CORE is one of the major civil rights advocacy organizations in the modern United States. CORE organized the Freedom Rides and helped sponsor the March on Washington.

In the United States, executive orders are directives issued by the president of the United States. These directives are essentially instructions given to the federal government, giving the president broad authority outside of Congress.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the FEPC through an executive order in 1941. The FEPC was founded in order to prevent employment discrimination among federal agencies, allowing racial minorities to take federal jobs contributing to the United States’ war effort in World War II. However, the FEPC was given little support from Congress, which limited its effectiveness.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1868. Among other provisions, it granted citizenship rights to African Americans. It also contained the Equal Protection Clause, which dictated that individuals should be treated equally by the law. In the 20th century, the clause would become the legal basis for a number of major Supreme Court decisions, such as Brown v. Board of Education.

The Freedom Riders were civil rights activists, both Black and white, who in 1961 violated segregation rules on buses. The purpose was to challenge Southern states that continued to enforce segregation on public transit. Many Freedom Riders were subjected to violence or arrested.

A 1950 United States Supreme Court decision, Henderson v. United States ended the practice of racial segregation on interstate railways. Dudziak views it as one of several key decisions that led to Brown v. Board of Education.

“Jim Crow” was an informal term for laws passed by state governments in the Southern United States that restricted the rights of African Americans. Such laws included poll taxes and literacy tests that prevented African Americans from voting, and laws forcing the segregation of white and Black people in schools and public places.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is one of the most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. It was one of the major groups campaigning against desegregation in the 1950s and 1960s.

Shelley v. Kraemer was a 1948 decision by the United States Supreme Court that made it illegal for landlords and real estate sellers to set up agreements called “covenants” that prevented Black people from buying or renting property in certain areas.