America has come a long way since the institution of segregation, a system of enforced separation based on race, that lasted well into the 20th century. It involved laws, policies, and social customs that kept Black and white Americans apart in public spaces, schools, transportation, housing, and more. Though legally dismantled in the mid-20th century, the legacy of racial segregation in the United States remains deeply rooted, and in some cases, reawakened by modern political forces.
Before we examine the more recent efforts by President Donald Trump and his administration to roll back decades of civil rights progress, it’s crucial to understand how segregation took hold in America, and how long and hard the fight for equality has been.
The Origins: The Black Codes and Post-Slavery Control
Per History, following the end of the Civil War in 1865, the South found new ways to restrict the freedoms of newly emancipated Black Americans. One of the earliest tools was the implementation of Black Codes, laws designed to control nearly every aspect of Black life, from employment and residency to mobility and behavior. These codes ensured that while slavery had ended in name, its spirit lived on through forced labor, curfews, vagrancy laws, and limited civil rights.
Institutionalizing Racism: The Jim Crow Era
By the late 19th century, racial separation became not just a social custom but a codified law, especially in the South. Jim Crow laws mandated the segregation of schools, neighborhoods, transportation, theaters, parks, hospitals, cemeteries, and even water fountains. White and Black Americans were kept apart in nearly every sphere of public and private life, under the pretense of maintaining order and “racial purity.”
Professional offices had separate waiting rooms for Black and white patients. Entire cities were carved into racially designated zones.
Education and Exclusion
Higher education was no exception. While white institutions barred Black students, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were founded in response. Schools like Howard University in Washington, D.C., Fisk University in Nashville, and Hampton Institute in Virginia provided education to Black youth, but often under the paternalistic framework of training them for service roles within a white-dominated economy.
Legal Endorsement: The Supreme Court’s Role
In 1875, Congress passed a Civil Rights Act that aimed to ban discrimination in public spaces. However, the law was poorly enforced and ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court in 1883, setting the stage for deeper entrenchment of segregation. Then came the infamous 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, in which the Court ruled that racial segregation was constitutional as long as facilities were “separate but equal,” according to The Library Of Congress. In practice, of course, they were anything but. This ruling gave legal cover to decades of systematic inequality.
Redlining and Housing Discrimination
In 1915, Oklahoma passed a law mandating the segregation of public telephone booths, a stark example of how far-reaching these policies became. Over time, segregation extended beyond public spaces, embedding itself into housing policies and urban planning.
In the 1930s, the federal government institutionalized housing segregation. As reported by NPR, a housing crisis in 1933 led to the creation of federal programs that intentionally deepened racial divides. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), founded in 1934, refused to insure mortgages in or near Black neighborhoods—a practice known as redlining. Meanwhile, the FHA subsidized suburban developments for white families, with explicit rules forbidding sales to African Americans.
Segregation began to unravel in the 1960s, as a sweeping wave of protests—driven largely by African Americans in the South—forced the nation to confront the deep injustices of racial discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement pushed civil rights to the center of American political discourse, and while there were champions in Congress, passing meaningful legislation required overcoming deeply entrenched resistance within both the House and Senate.
After years of struggle, the breakthrough came with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed into law on July 2, 1964. This landmark legislation outlawed segregation in businesses like restaurants, theaters, and hotels, banned discrimination in employment, and desegregated public facilities such as schools, libraries, and swimming pools, according to the National Archives.
While the Civil Rights Act marked a pivotal turning point, the policies and structures built during the segregation era continued to shape American life for decades. Racially isolated neighborhoods, educational disparities, and the racial wealth gap are all part of this tough legacy. Today, many argue that efforts by the Trump administration are attempting to roll back aspects of this hard-won progress, reigniting debates over equality, justice, and the future of civil rights in America.
Federal contracts no longer explicitly prohibit the use of segregated facilities.
The Trump administration recently removed a long-standing federal requirement that barred government contractors from maintaining segregated facilities, such as separate restaurants, waiting rooms, and drinking fountains, according to a recent memo sent out by the General Services Administration (GSA). The change stems from the Trump administration’s executive order that rolled back diversity and inclusion policies originally established by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. The affected clause, part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), had been in place for decades and prohibited companies from establishing segregation facilities based on race, gender, religion, and other characteristics.
Sadly, several federal agencies—including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security—have already begun enforcing the change. One federal contract worker told NPR they were “shocked” by how quickly the executive order took effect and how little warning was given.
“The way that they’re implementing this in the contracting field is essentially subverting democracy — you’re supposed to allow agencies to comment on this, contracting officers to comment on it, and think through the implications carefully,” the worker shared. “By doing this, they’re essentially ramming things through hoping no one’s going to notice.”
Will Powell, a spokesperson from the GSA, defended the swift move, calling it “common practice and permissible, not only used for emergency circumstances.” Powell added, “We are moving at the speed of need to quickly undo the damaging policies of the past administration,” noting that “the Civil Rights Act of 1964 must still be followed,” the landmark law that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
SEE MORE:
‘Segregated Facilities’ No Longer Explicitly Banned Under Trump
40 Acres And A Mule: What Are Reparations And Why Is The Concept So Polarizing?
Why The History Of Segregated Facilities Matters In The Trump Era
was originally published on
newsone.com
