Resource: Washington, D.C.: A Challenge to Jim Crow in the Nation’s Capital

Segregation in Washington, D.C., was a glaring example of the contradictions in American society. In the 1950s the city’s government, including schools, was under the control of Congress. Its members proudly portrayed the city as the capital of the free world, where democracy and personal freedoms were defended against the threat of communist totalitarianism. Yet, most of the city’s public facilities, schools, and housing were segregated by law or practice. Sparked by the protests of a local barber, a grassroots organization formed to expose this hypocrisy and demand equal treatment for all children.