De jure (Latin for “from the law”) segregation is the separation of people on the basis of race as required by by law. For example, after the Civil War and the ending of slavery by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (1865), the governments of the former slave states found new ways to discriminate against black Americans. They enacted laws to require separate public facilities for blacks and whites. Blacks were required, for example, to attend separate schools, to use separate public rest rooms, and to use separate public drinking fountains. The separate facilities for blacks were supposed to be equal to the facilities provided for whites. This “separate but equal” doctrine was endorsed by the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). In reality, however, the facilities for black people were rarely, if ever, equal in quality to those provided for whites.
Racial separation that exists as a matter of custom rather than as a legal requirement is known as de facto (Latin for “in fact”) segregation. For example, one neighborhood may include only white families, and another nearby neighborhood may include only black families. However, this racial segregation may have developed informally in response to social and economic factors, not as a requirement of the law.
De jure segregation has been declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Brown v. Board of Education (1954) the Court ruled against de jure racial segregation in public schools. In subsequent cases the Court outlawed racial discrimination in other areas of public life. In 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, which outlawed de jure segregation.
The Court has ruled in Milliken v. Bradley (1974) that courts of law can remedy de facto segregation only if it was caused by specific acts of government. In Washington v. Seattle School District No. 1 (1982) the Court upheld voluntary acts by state agencies to overcome de facto segregation.
See also Brown v. Board of Education; Civil rights; Equality under the Constitution; Plessy v. Ferguson
