Segregation in the United States, specifically the legal segregation enforced by Jim Crow laws, officially ended with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, outlawed segregation in public places, employment, and services, marking the end of de jure segregation. However, some forms of de facto segregation, driven by economic and social factors, continue to exist.
Historical Context
- Jim Crow laws mandated racial segregation in the U.S. South from the late 19th century.
- The U.S. Supreme Court upheld "separate but equal" segregation in 1896's Plessy v. Ferguson.
- The landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional, initiating the legal unraveling of segregation.
End of Legal Segregation
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally ended segregation in public accommodations and employment.
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further dismantled discriminatory practices.
- Despite legal progress, many communities still experience segregation based on socioeconomic factors rather than explicit laws.
Thus, the official end of segregation was in 1964, but its legacy and effects linger beyond that date in various forms.
