What Year Did Segregation End?

The end of racial segregation in the United States happened little by little over the course of several decades with desegregation taking place at different times in the military, schools, public transportation and businesses. It was a long, difficult and painful process that, if we’re honest, we’re still working on.

The U.S. Army was among the first to initiate racial integration in 1944 to 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge. The U.S. had lost tens of thousands of soldiers to casualty or capture, and, unwilling to let the Germans regain ground in Europe, decided to try something completely new. The idea of integrating black and white soldiers was not a new one, but until then, it had been regarded as a social experiment that no one wanted to risk under the circumstances. However, with the loss of so many fighting men, and with victory within view, they decided to try.

In a memo dated December 26, 1944, Lieutenant General John C. H. Lee said to his fellow Commanding Generals:

“The Supreme Commander desires to destroy the enemy forces and end hostilities in this theater without delay. Every available weapon at our disposal must be brought to bear upon the enemy. To this end...Commanders of all grades will receive voluntary applications for transfer to the Infantry and forward them to higher authority with recommendations for appropriate type of replacement. This opportunity to volunteer will be extended to all soldiers without regard to color or race.... In the event that the number of suitable Negro volunteers exceeds the replacement needs of Negro combat units, these men will be suitable incorporated in other organizations so that their service and their fighting spirit may be efficiently utilized.”

Once again, in the Korean War, black and white units were combined out of necessity, and when it became obvious that the “social experiment” was working, segregation in the military was ended for good.

Desegregation in Schools and Universities

Through the first half of the 20th century, schools and school systems were allowed to make their own rules about racial segregation. The 1896 Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson, had set the precedent that facilities could be “separate but equal.” The Plessy case was with regard to train cars, but many local and state courts used it for almost 60 years as the pretext for segregated schools.

Not all schools were segregated, and not all that were segregated had laws upholding the practice. Indeed, even middle and high schools in Topeka, Kansas had been integrated since 1941 and earlier. So in 1951, when Oliver Brown tried to enroll his third-grade daughter Linda in the white school in their neighborhood, there was no reason for his request to be denied, but it was. Brown was one of thirteen black parents who brought a class action suit against the Topeka Board of Education on behalf of their combined 20 children.

The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, where in 1954, it was determined that

“segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors may be equal, deprive[s] the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities.”

Public schools everywhere were to desegregate following this decision, but it took another decade to see it through.

In 1963, Alabama governor George Wallace personally stood in the doorway of the entrance to the University of Alabama, refusing to allow two black students to enroll. President John F. Kennedy sent in National Guard troops to intervene, and the university has been integrated ever since.

Desegregation on Public Transportation

In 1955, the Interstate Commerce Commission determined that segregation would be banned on interstate buses. However, the ICC did nothing to enforce its ruling, and local public transit authorities could still make their own rules.

In an effort to shed light on the situation and make a statement for freedom and integration, a group of civil rights activists known as the Freedom Riders embarked on a multi-state bus trip in May 1961. They would ride from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans, through the South, where racial tensions were still high and Jim Crow (segregation) Laws were still in effect.

The Freedom Riders encountered little trouble through the first few states, but they were violently attacked and arrested in Alabama. Some were even taken to hospitals where they were refused treatment. New Freedom Riders came in to take their places, however, and they continued the trip.

In all, over 400 Freedom Riders participated in Freedom Rides during the summer of 1961. The vast majority of them were arrested, many being treated cruelly by angry citizens and prison guards. But they accomplished what they set out to do. In November of that year, the ICC finally put the integration policies in place that had been established six years earlier. Buses, bus terminals, bus platforms, restrooms and lunch counters were integrated.

Modern Segregation

Although segregation is illegal everywhere in the United States today, cities and school systems are still trying to figure out how to make it work. Because the trend, by and large, is that white families populate the suburbs while minorities dominate the more urban areas, many school systems are having a difficult time deciding where they want kids to go. If they draw zoning lines so that each school has a healthy mix of races, that means some children have longer drives or bus rides than others. But if they draw the zones according to proximity alone, then they run the risk of breaking laws because schools located in white neighborhoods will have white students, and schools in black neighborhoods will have black students.