The American War against De Jure and De Facto Discrimination

The American War against De Jure and De Facto Discrimination Throughout the semester, we have examined the differences between de jure segregation, that which is written into law, such as slavery and Jim Crow, and de facto segregation, that which is seen as customary. Even though the battle against de jure discrimination has been a victorious one, with the desegregation of the American military and federal government in the 1940s, the reversal of Plessy vs. Ferguson in the 1950s, and the passing of the Civil and Voting Rights Acts in the 1960s, our country still sees an almost daily example of de facto discrimination’s stronghold on our society, with blatant racial profiling, continued residential segregation, and the 2013 decision of the Supreme Court to overturn certain provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Even while African Americans were fighting for the United States during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, the laws Jim Crow were still in full effect, and African Americans saw segregation within the military. As with the American Civil War and World War I before, African Americans were relegated to segregated divisions and menial positions, and even military bases, facilities, dining halls, and ships were segregated. However, some headway was made when, in 1942, the Marine Corps accepted its first black soldier, and again in 1944 with the desegregation of military training facilities (Notes on WWII). During the 1940s, two other victories came to the fight against de jure segregation. The first was Executive Order 8802, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 and prohibited racial discrimination in the national defense industry and the federal government. It also established the Fair Employment Practices Commission, intended to help African Americans and other minorities obtain jobs in the defense industry during World War II. Within the 4 year span of 1940 to 1944, our country saw a 300% rise in African American