Fluctuating Commitment

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provided the legal access for individuals or groups to file discrimination suits. When the act was passed, Civil Rights policies had a high priority on the national agenda.

In 1969, when President Richard Nixon took office, the federal government considered enforcing Civil Rights policies as low priority. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) notified 10 states that they needed to develop a plan to desegregate their institutions for higher education. Five states, including North Carolina, ignored the request because they realized that Nixon did not plan to enforce consequences for failing to comply.

Absent from the public record is the state and federal officials’ actual feelings toward civil rights policies. By using oral histories, it is possible to understand individuals’ perspectives on civil rights. By understanding state and federal officials’ different perspectives, it is possible to explain the fluctuating commitments to enforcing civil rights policies.

Visit other Exhibits in Crossing the Color Line.